Saudi module plant moves forward with property deal

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
A'laa bin Abdullah Naseef and Shiekh Ibrahim Al-Afandi sign the contract. Credit: Al-Afandi Group

Saudi-based industrial conglomerate Al-Afandi Group has signed a property contract with the Yanbu Royal Commission in Saudi Arabia for the first phase what is hoped to become a 1GW integrated module factory.

The first phase will be located on a 55,000sq-metre premises in Yanbu with 120MW capacity, which is the equivalent of producing around 450,000 solar panels per year. The factory will eventually be ramped up to 1GW and is eventually expected to cover all steps of the value chain, from polysilicon through to finished module.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

Not ready to commit yet?
  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Modules from the plant will be produced spefically for harsh desert environments.

Al-Rasheed Alkibsy, business development director at the Al-Afandi Group, claimed Saudi Arabia has the highest solar irradiance levels in the world, so it made sense to utilise this resource and lessen the country's total reliance on oil-based energy, however this would also contribute to the nation increasing oil exports. Saudi Arabia has in the past year scaled back plans for a multi-gigawatt solar deployment programme.

The firm has been exporting solar panels to Europe since 1994.

The contract was signed between the chief executive of the Royal Commission in Yanbu, A'laa bin Abdullah Naseef, and the chairman of the board of Al-Afandi group, Shiekh Ibrahim Al-Afandi.

This story has been modified from its original version to clarify details of the planned fab.

Read Next

August 28, 2025
Bahraini, Chinese, Egyptian and Emirati groups have agreed to develop a new solar and storage manufacturing facility in Egypt
Premium
August 27, 2025
American Clean Power Association’s MJ Shiao assesses the state of US PV manufacturing in the wake of recent policy developments.
August 22, 2025
Saudi developer ACWA Power has started commercial operations of a 2.7GW solar PV portfolio in its home country.
Premium
August 22, 2025
Radovan Kopecek and Joris Libal examine the technological and economic factors driving PV’s ascendancy, with emphasis on bifacial BC modules.
Premium
August 15, 2025
PV Talk: AIKO's chief scientist, Yongqian Wang, tells PV Tech Premium that copper is now a “highly suitable” alternative to silver.
August 15, 2025
Indian domestic solar module manufacturing capacity has exceeded 100GW, up from just 2.3GW in 2014, according to minister Pralhad Joshi.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
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