ACWA Power, a Saudi Arabia-based firm involved in the development, construction, and operation of power generation and desalination of water plants, has announced the financial closure of the Sakaka solar project. This is the first utility scale renewable energy project developed in Saudi Arabia under the National Renewable Energy Program executed by REPDO (Renewable Energy Project Development Office).

Sakaka PV Project is owned by Sakaka Solar Energy Company (SSEC), where ACWA Power has 70 percent holding and AlGihaz has the rest 30 percent holding. SSEC has also concluded a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Saudi power procurement company (SPPC).

In January 2018, REPDO had awarded the project to ACWA Power Consortium at a record tariff of $0.0234/kWh.

“We are excited to commence construction of this first utility scale PV plant in the Kingdom project which will allow us to utilize the considerable expertise and relationships with technology providers and the supply chain we have acquired through the development of 3000MW of renewable energy projects in 5 other countries over the last 7 years,” said Paddy Padmanathan, President and CEO of ACWA Power.

The commercial operation of the project is scheduled towards the end of 2019. After its completion, the 300 MW Sakaka PV IPP will supply power to more than 75,000 households. This will reduce 430,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

The project is in Al Jouf, covering over six square kilometres. The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the project was awarded to a consortium of Mahindra Susten and Chint.

Sami Al Angari, CEO of AlGihaz said, “The Kingdom’s plan to become more diversified in its energy sources and concentrate on renewable energy is an important part of the National Transformation Plan (NTP) and we are keen to play a major role in helping deliver this. AlGihaz is committed to a green future for the Kingdom and for the world and we will aim to participate to any renewable energy project that would help achieve this goal.”

Earlier, Mercom reported that ACWA Power  will invest $302 million to develop the Sakaka solar project. Also, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia has acquired a 15.2 percent stake in ACWA Power.

In July 2018, the International Company for Water and Power Projects (ACWA Power) announced that it would soon begin the construction of a 100 MW solar project in South Africa.