ACWA Power eyeing ‘enhanced’ growth as Silk Road purchase completes

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The Sakkara solar farm in Saudi Arabia, completed by ACWA Power. Image: ACWA Power.

Saudi Arabian developer ACWA Power has set its sights on an accelerated growth trajectory after China’s Silk Road Fund completed the purchase of a minority stake in the firm’s renewables arm.

The deal, first announced last summer, will see the Chinese state fund take on a 49% stake in – and become a strategic partner of – ACWA Power RenewCo, which owns and operates nearly 1.7GW of CSP, solar PV and wind across the Middle East and Africa.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

ACWA confirmed over the weekend that the deal had now completed, allowing the company to capitalise on the “rapidly growing potential” for renewables across emerging markets.

Paddy Padmanathan, chief executive officer at ACWA Power, said that the partnership with Silk Road Fund is testament to the “robust relations” between Saudi Arabia and China, and will allow it to “enhance” the solar developer’s ambitious growth plans across numerous markets.

“Having the Silk Road Fund as a partner is a strategic step for us in supporting the economic transformation envisioned by the Belt and Road initiative as well as Saudi Arabia’s forward-looking Vision 2030.

“This partnership reaffirms ACWA Power’s strong commitment to contributing to the green development of the regions with its reliable financial stability, cementing the company’s position as an attractive investment partner to stakeholders, locally and globally,” Rajit Nanda, CIO at ACWA Power, added.

China’s Belt and Road initiative constitutes a move from the Chinese government to spearhead infrastructure development and investments in key strategic markets, spanning India, east Africa, the Middle East and Europe. The Silk Road Fund, which has US$40 billion of capital to deploy into energy and transport projects, forms an important cornerstone of that initiative.

ACWA and the Silk Road Fund collaborated to win a tender for phase four of the 5GW Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park in Dubai, which incorporates both hybrid CSP and solar PV capacities.   

25 November 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Large Scale Solar Central and Eastern Europe continues to be the place to leverage a network that has been made over more than 10 years, to build critical partnerships to develop solar projects throughout the region.
10 March 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
The conference will gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

September 17, 2025
US renewables developer Longroad Energy has reached financial close for its 400MW 1000 Mile solar project in the US state of Texas.
September 17, 2025
Nexamp has secured US$350 million through a long-term financing facility to expand its 6GW utility-scale solar and battery storage pipeline in the US. 
September 17, 2025
Chinese module producer DAS Solar is planning a 5GW manufacturing facility focused on producing high-efficiency back contact cells.
September 16, 2025
The SPPC has launched a request for qualifications for 5.3GW of new renewable power capacity, of which solar will account for 3.1GW.
September 16, 2025
Chinese polysilicon producer GCL-Tech has entered into a strategic financing agreement with Infini Capital, a globally renowned investment institution backed by a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund.
September 15, 2025
Sunrun has priced a securitisation of leases and power purchase agreements, taking its non-recourse debt capital raised in Q3 above US$1.5 billion. 

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA