Saudi Arabia signs 12 GW of solar PV projects

Image: Aboodi Vesakaran/Unsplash

Recently, the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) and a consortium led by ACWA Power officially signed five new Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for solar projects, totaling an impressive 12 GW of installed capacity. These projects fall under the Kingdom’s National Renewable Energy Program, overseen by the Ministry of Energy, with a total investment of SAR 31 billion (approximately US $8.3 billion).

Overview of the five PV projects:

Bisha Project (Aseer region): 3 GW capacity; LCOE of 4.83708 halalas/kWh (1.28989 US cents/kWh)

Humaji Project (Madinah region): 3 GW; LCOE of 4.90682 halalas/kWh (1.30848 US cents/kWh)

Khulis Project (Makkah region): 2 GW; LCOE of 5.10439 halalas/kWh (1.36117 US cents/kWh)

Afif-1 Project (Riyadh region): 2 GW; LCOE of 4.74736 halalas/kWh (1.26596 US cents/kWh)

Afif-2 Project (Riyadh region): 2 GW; LCOE of 4.72346 halalas/kWh (1.25959 US cents/kWh)

This signing marks a record-breaking scale for a single-phase renewable energy development globally. As the Kingdom’s designated power procurement authority, SPPC is tasked with conducting feasibility studies, leading tenders for generation projects, and signing PPAs with developer consortia.

To date, the SPPC have initiated a combined 43,213 MW of renewable energy projects. Of that, 38,713 MW have PPAs signed, and 10,213 MW are already connected to the grid. Grid-connected capacity is expected to reach 12,713 MW by the end of 2025, climbing to around 20,013 MW by the end of 2026 .