Acwa Power, a leader in the energy transition, along with Water and Electricity Holding Company (Badeel), a PIF- owned company, and Saudi Aramco Power Company (Sapco), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aramco, have announced the successful financial close of the Haden, Muwayh and Al Khushaybi solar photovoltaic (PV) projects. 

 

These projects have a total investment value of $3.2 billion and aim to generate a combined capacity of 5.5 GW of solar energy for Saudi Arabia. 

 

With individual capacities of 2GW, 2GW and 1.5GW of renewable power respectively, the Haden and Muwayh plants are in the Makkah region, and Al Khushaybi plant is in the Qassim region. 

 

The plants will be jointly owned by Badeel, Acwa Power and Sapco. Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) is the procurer and the off-taker for the projects.

 

These initiatives form a crucial part of Saudi Arabia’s National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP), which is led and supervised by the Ministry of Energy and is reflected in PIF’s commitment to develop 70% of Saudi Arabia’s Renewable Energy Target Capacity by 2030.

 

According to Acwa Power, the $2.5 billion senior debt financing for the Haden, Muwayh and Al Khushaybi plants was funded by a consortium of local, regional and international banks, including Banque Saudi Fransi, Mizuho Bank, Riyad Bank, Saudi National Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank and HSBC.

 

On the financial close, Acwa Power CEO Marco Arcelli said: "We are delighted to announce the successful financial close of these milestone projects, which bring us a step closer to achieving Saudi Arabia’s long-term ambitions. Financial closure of the projects signals our dedication and commitment to providing clean, consistent and cost-effective energy."

 

"We are grateful to our stakeholders and our financial partners for their invaluable support in enabling us to make this vision a reality," he stated.

 

Badeel Acting CEO Sultan AlNabulsi said: "Reaching the financial close of these solar PV projects represents a major milestone in our journey to support Saudi Arabia’s rapidly growing renewable energy sector and contribute to PIF’s commitment to developing 70% of the kingdom’s renewable energy by 2030."

 

"We look forward to continuing our collaborative efforts in building a greener and more sustainable future for Saudi Arabia," he added.

 

Waleed Al Saif, SVP of New Energies at Saudi Aramco, said: "We are pleased to extend our partnership with Acwa Power and Badeel, providing further impetus for the kingdom’s rapidly growing renewables sector. Together, we are taking our renewables portfolio to the next level, advancing the energy transition to meet rising demand for power with fewer emissions."

 

"Through our recently established new energies organization, Aramco aims to support the growth of alternative energy solutions including renewables, carbon capture and storage, and lower-carbon hydrogen," he added.

 

The financial closure of these projects follows significant PIF investment in the renewable energy value chain. In July, PIF announced three new joint ventures which will enhance local production of wind turbine and solar PV components, benefitting from the global energy transition and supporting PIF’s efforts to position Saudi Arabia as a global manufacturing center for the renewables sector.

 

PIF and its partners are currently developing several projects with a total capacity of 13.6 GW, involving over $9 billion in investments. 

 

These joint projects, which also include Sudair, Shuaibah 2, Ar Rass 2, Al Kahfah and Saad 2, are intended to enable and support the local private sector through domestic supply chain participation.

 

With the addition of these three projects, Acwa Power's solar portfolio in Saudi Arabia now stands at 14 projects, representing more than 17.8 GW of combined PV capacity. It also brings Acwa Power's total renewable capacity portfolio to 35 GW.-TradeArabia News Service