Renewable energy developer ACWA Power and the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) have partnered to develop the 700MW Ar Rass solar PV independent power plant (IPP) in Saudi Arabia’s Al Qassim province.
The partnership agreement will see ACWA Power sell energy produced by the project to SPPC for a period of 25 years.
The project, valued at $450 million, will produce enough energy to power around 132,000 homes and is said to be the largest PV tender in Saudi Arabia’s National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP) to date.
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Mohammad Abunayyan, ACWA Power Chairman, said: “As Saudi Arabia’s leadership ramps up its multi-gigawatt plans for diversifying its energy mix to include renewable energy, solar power is a key component in unlocking positive economic, environmental and social outcomes, whether it is for consumer use, or in mega-projects.
“We thank our partners in the Ministry of Energy for entrusting us with this important project so that we can work in the delivery of our mission in providing responsible, reliable and affordable power.”
Saudi Minister of Energy, His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, emphasised at the signing ceremony that the project aligns with the region’s efforts to diversify its energy mix and will contribute to achieving the goal of 15,000MW of clean energy by 2023.
ACWA Power will hold a 40.1% stake in the facility, along with 20% by the Water and Electricity Holding Company and 39.9% by the State Power Investment Corporation from China.
The Ar Rass IPP is expected to reach financial close in Q4 2022 and will be commissioned by Q4 2024.
