ACWA Power has signed an agreement with Badeel – the water and electric holding company of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) – to develop 4.5GW of solar PV projects in Saudi Arabia. The projects will represent an investment of SAR12.2 billion (US$3.3 billion).
Saudi Arabian energy developer ACWA Power and Badeel, a subsidiary of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) will partner to develop a 2,060MW solar PV project in the country's Makkah province.
Solar tracker manufacturer PV Hardware (PVH) has opened an 8GW factory in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The facility will produce trackers and structures for solar projects in the Middle East and further afield.
Nextracker has been selected to supply its smart solar trackers and TrueCapture technology for the first phase of a 450MW PV project in Sudair, Saudi Arabia, which Nextracker said was the country’s largest solar plant currently under construction.
Solar developers ACWA Power and Jinko Power have both penned power purchase agreements in Saudi Arabia, with the country aiming to launch 15GW of projects in the next two years.
A consortium including Saudi solar developer ACWA Power has inaugurated the 500MW Ibri 2 solar project in Oman, which becomes the country’s largest utility-scale solar project to date.
Solar PV has taken off in the MENA region in recent years, driven by positive governmental policy, prominent tenders and decarbonisation targets. But challenges remain, both for smaller companies wishing to enter the market and in the operation of plants. Molly Lempriere takes a look at the market drivers and the challenges of competing.
