ACWA Power starts production at 300MW solar plant in Saudi Arabia

The project is supported by a 25-year PPA with the Saudi Power Procurement Company.

ACWA Power has announced the connection of the 300 MW Sakaka PV project to the grid and first power production. ACWA Power won the project in February 2018 through an auction process at the tariff of around US$2.34c/kWh (compared with USS$2.66c/kWh for its main contender, Marubeni Corporation).

Located in the al-Jouf region of Saudi Arabia, the project has been built under the framework of the renewable energy program executed by state-run REPDO (Renewable Energy Project Development Office). The project will be supported by a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC).

ACWA Power reached financial close for the SAR1.2bn (US$320m) project with its partner AlGihaz Holding Company in November 2018. ACWA Power holds 70% of the project and AlGihaz 30% through its subsidiary AlGihaz Renewable Energy.

In addition, a consortium led by ACWA Power and Gulf Investment Corporation was selected as the preferred bidder to develop the 900 MW fifth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), offering a price of US$1.70c/kWh. The project will be progressively commissioned, starting from the mid-2021. The current capacity of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is 713 MW.

This article was originally published by Enerdata.