Saudi Arabia Invites RFQ for Four Solar Power Projects with a Combined Capacity of 3.7 GWs

Saudi Arabia is leading the solar power revolution in the Middle East, and it has launched Vision 2030, a transformative economic programme, to steer the Kingdom towards a more sustainable future.

As part of the Kingdom’s solar ambitions, Saudi Power Procurement Co. (SPPC) has issued the request for qualification (RFQ) for four new solar power projects with a combined capacity of 3.7 gigawatts (GW) as part of the fifth round of solar projects under the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP), led and supervised by the Ministry of Energy and part of Saudi’s Vision 2030.

These projects include Al Sadawi Independent Power Producer (IPP) in the Eastern Province with a 2 GW capacity, Al Masa’a IPP in Hail at 1 GW capacity, Al Henakiyah 2 IPP in Madinah with a 400 MWs and Rabigh 2 IPP in Makkah with a 300 MWs capacity.

These four new projects are part of NREP, which aims to achieve the optimal energy mix, replacing liquid fuels in the Kingdom’s power sector and supplying 50% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030, SPPC said.

The SPPC is responsible for the predevelopment, tendering, and subsequently off taking the Energy from the projects. To date, SPPC has awarded over 12.6 GW of renewable energy capacity under NREP.

Abundant Radiation

With abundant solar radiation, Saudi Arabia views renewable energy as a prestigious business opportunity as the country seeks to becoming the world’s lowest‑cost producer of renewable energy and it already boasts among the world’s lowest solar-power tariffs.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia is looking to free up oil and gas for export while international energy prices remain high.

Although the financial imperative is the main driving force behind the rapid development of renewable development, reputational ends are also a factor in the government’s increasing attention to clean energy, particularly as the government has adopted a net‑zero carbon emissions target for 2060.

Saudi Arabia aims to invest a total of $101 billion in a bid to raise renewable energy to 50% of power‑generating capacity (about 58.7 GW) by 2030. In fact, the Kingdom is one of the top countries in the world in terms of solar power potential.

Even ACWA Power, a local utilities company, signed an agreement with Water and Electricity Holding Company (Badeel) to build the world’s largest single-site solar-power plant in Al Shuaibah, Mecca province.

The solar-power facility is expected to start operations by end‑2025, with a generation capacity of 2.06 GWs. The Kingdom expects investment in clean energy projects to rise, assisted by high oil prices in 2023‑24, as Saudi Arabia seeks to add 15 GW of renewable energy capacity in 2022‑23, supporting the government’s climate objectives and economic diversification strategy.