Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — A consortium of ACWA Power and subsidiaries of Saudi sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund, and energy giant Aramco, have announced financial close of Al Shuaibah 1 and Al Shuaibah 2 solar PV projects in Makkah.
The projects will generate an aggregate capacity of over 2.6GW of clean electricity for Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) is the procurer and the off-taker for the projects, while the new projects will be jointly owned by PIF subsidiary Badeel (34.99 percent) and ACWA Power (35.01 percent) and SAPCO (30%).
The financial close for the projects is a key achievement in the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) which is led and supervised by the Ministry of Energy and is a key achievement towards PIF’s commitment to develop 70 percent of Saudi Arabia’s Renewable Energy Target Capacity by 2030, ACWA said.
The $1.63 billion senior debt financing for this plant includes a $450 million, Saudi Riyal denominated loan from the National Development Fund on behalf of the National Infrastructure Fund (Under Establishment) as well as $1.18 billion, US-dollar denominated commercial facility from a consortium of local, regional and international banks such as Bank Saudi Fransi, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Mizuho Bank, Riyad Bank, Saudi National Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Saudi Investment Bank.
Aramco’s investment in Al Shuaibah 1 and Al Shuaibah 2 Solar PV Projects through SAPCO is its second participation in the National Renewable Energy Program.
PIF, through Water and Electricity Holding Company (Badeel), in partnership with ACWA Power as a lead developer, is executing a total of five NREP projects, with a cumulative capacity of 8GW and over $6 billion of investment from PIF and its partners.
These projects – Sudair, Al Shuaibah 2, Ar Rass 2, Al Kahfah, Saad 2 – are aiming to enable and support the local private sector through requirements for significant local content contribution and the procurement of equipment, supplies, and services through local supply chains.
Situated in Al Shuaibah in the Makkah Province, the Al Shuaibah PV 1 and Al Shuaibah PV 2 will have a capacity of 600 MW and 2,031 MW respectively and are capable of powering approximately 450,000 households. The total investment in the plant amounts to US$2.37 billion, and commercial operations will commence in 2025.
With the addition of these two projects, ACWA Power’s solar portfolio in Saudi Arabia now exceeds 12GW of combined PV capacity. This includes the recent inclusion of three new projects with PIF subsidiary Badeel: the 2GW Ar Rass 2, 1.125GW Saad 2, and 1.4GW Al Kahfah solar plants. Overall, ACWA Power’s global portfolio of renewable energy capacity stands at 23.4GW.