Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation (Sepco) has secured the Saudi Arabia Group 1-KSB Independent Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project, which forms part of the kingdom’s first wave of large-scale battery energy storage projects.

Sepco is a major Chinese engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor specialising in power generation, transmission infrastructure and energy projects.

The project, Al Khushaybi Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), has a planned capacity of 500 MW/2,000 MWh. 

It supports Saudi Arabia’s energy transition ambitions under Vision 2030, particularly the development of energy storage infrastructure to complement itsexpanding renewable energy capacity.

The project is being developed by a consortium of French energy major Engie and Saudi group Haji Abdullah Alireza & Co.

The Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) is the offtaker for the project, which is mainly aimed at strengthening grid flexibility and supporting the integration of renewable energy into Saudi Arabia’s power system.

Upon completion and commissioning, the BESS facility will help balance electricity supply and demand by storing energy during periods of lower demand and discharging it when demand increases, it stated. 

The project is also expected to improve grid stability, enhance the resilience of electricity supply, and support the integration of solar and wind power into the national grid, it added.