Saudi Arabia’s new green energy tender sets sights on 1.2GW PV pipeline

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Image credit: Edward Musiak / Flickr

Saudi Arabia has pressed ahead with its renewable energy programme, launching proceedings for a PV-only new round even as the earlier phase has yet to allocate contracts.

On Thursday, the Middle Eastern kingdom said the third round of its green energy tender scheme will pick developers for four solar projects, representing a combined 1.2GW of PV capacity.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • 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

The third tender’s two-tiered design will see 200MW of the 1.2GW portfolio developed in the form of two ‘Category A’ plants, dubbed Layla (80MW) and Wadi Al Dawaser (120MW).

The Renewable Energy Project Development Office (REPDO) – the state agency running the tenders – said the other 1GW will be split between 'Category B' Ar Rass (700MW) and Saad (300MW).

REPDO has initiated the round-three process by releasing a request for qualifications, open until 6 February. A request for proposals may be launched on 19 March.

The Kingdom of the rising sun

The series of tenders, known as Saudi Arabia’s National Renewable Energy Program (NREP), kicked off in 2017 with a first round targeting both PV (300MW) and wind (400MW) projects.

The solar, representing SAR 1.2 billion (US$320 million) Sakaka, was contracted to ACWA Power and linked to the grid late last year. The 400MW wind project remains under construction.

When it released NREP’s second round last July, Saudi Arabia was more ambitious – targeting the contracting of 1.47GW all in all – and limited the scope to only PV projects.

Almost six months after its launch, the second round has yet to pick its tender winners. Depending on project size, developers have until 20 January or 3 February to table round-two bids.

Consultants believe Saudi Arabia is set to become one of score of solar “growth engines”, with predictions that the kingdom will go on to install 1-5GW of PV every year by 2024.

26 November 2024
Málaga, Spain
Understanding PV module supply to the European market in 2025. PV ModuleTech Europe 2024 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of module supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, traceability of supply-chain, factory auditing, module testing and reliability, and company bankability.

Read Next

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
April 10, 2024
Dallas, Texas USA
Solar Media Events
April 17, 2024
Lisbon, Portugal
Solar Media Events
May 1, 2024
Dallas, Texas
Solar Media Events
May 21, 2024
Napa, USA