The Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) has announced a shortlist of bidders for its fifth round of public tenders under the National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP). This round involves 3.6 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity spread across four projects. The bids for these projects were first revealed in February, and the shortlisted bidders include companies from the Middle East and international energy sectors.
The largest project in this round is the Al-Sadawi Solar PV Independent Power Producer (IPP) project, which has a capacity of 2,000MW. Two companies were shortlisted for this project: the UAE-based renewable energy developer Masdar (also known as Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) and China’s SPIC Huanghe Hydropower Development. SPIC is owned by the State Power Investment Corporation Limited (SPIC), a Chinese state-owned company.
SPIC Huanghe Hydropower Development was also shortlisted for the 1,000MW Al-Massaa project, in partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Al Jomaih Energy and Water Company. For these projects, Masdar and SPIC will manage the development, with French companies Totalenergies and EDF Renouvelables listed as technical partners.
In addition to the two largest projects, there are two smaller ones. The Al-Henakiyah 2 project has a capacity of 400MW, and the Rabigh 2 project has 300MW. Masdar, SPIC Huanghe Hydropower, and Al Jomaih Energy and Water Company were shortlisted for these as well.
The selected bidders will be granted contracts to build, own, and operate the solar projects. The SPPC has stated that these projects represent an investment of over USD 2.13 billion. This is part of Saudi Arabia’s broader goal to supply 50% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030.
In September 2023, the SPPC launched the sixth round of the NREP, requesting proposals for an additional 3GW of solar PV capacity, which will be combined with 1.5GW of wind power capacity.
