Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) has signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with three companies for solar projects with a total installed capacity of 5.5 GW.
SPPC signed the PPAs with ACWA Power, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund subsidiary Water and Power Holding Company, and Saudi Aramco.
The projects include the Haden Solar PV Plant (2GW) and Al-Muwaih Solar PV Plant (2GW) in Makkah Province, and the Al-Khushaybi PV Project (1.5GW) in Qassim Province.
The projects are part of the country's National Renewable Energy Program, which is overseen by the Ministry of Energy.
In addition, Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud noted that Saudi Arabia will begin tendering 20GW of new renewable energy projects each year in 2024, with the goal of achieving an installed capacity of 100GW to 130GW by 2030, depending on the growth in electricity demand.
Since the launch of the renewable energy program, 21 projects have been awarded so far. Of the 21 projects, seven with a total installed capacity of 4.1GW are currently connected to the grid, eight with a total installed capacity of 8.2GW are under construction, and six with a total installed capacity of 7GW have entered the financing stage.
In addition to the PPA, Saudi Arabia recently launched a geographic survey project to identify suitable locations for renewable energy projects across the country.
The project will survey all regions of Saudi Arabia, a total area of more than 850,000 square kilometers, excluding densely populated areas and air traffic control areas and sand dunes.
