Saudi Arabia To Seek Proposals For 1.47 GW RE

• Out of 12 renewable energy projects Saudi Arabia plans to tender in 2019, it will issue request for proposals for 6 projects in July and August 2019
• On July 18, 2019, RFP will be issued for 4 solar power projects with 1.4 GW capacity under Category B
• RFP for another 70 MW will be launched on August 1, 2019 under Category A
• Small scale projects in this list are designed to encourage participation of local players

Saudi Arabia will launch 6 new renewable energy tenders in the months of July and August 2019, as part of the kingdom's plan to tender 12 renewable energy projects in 2019. Together, the 12 projects represent over 3 GW of capacity, according to the Renewable Energy Project Development Office (REPDO).

Projects have been divided in Category A with projects with 100 MW or less capacity and Category B projects larger than 100 MW. The 'small' scale projects are designed especially to enable greater opportunities for local companies to participate in the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP).

Together all these 6 projects are expected to generate investments of close to SAR 5.2 billion ($1.4 billion) from the private sector. The projects will have a minimum percentage of local content to be calculated according to the mechanism defined by the Local Content & Government Procurement Authority (LCGPA).

Projects were identified back in January 2019. Now REPDO has shared more details (see 1.5 GW Solar IPP Tender In Saudi Arabia).

A request for proposals (RFP) for Category B will be launched on July 18, 2019 for:

1. 600 MW Al-Faisaliah Project
2. 300 MW Jeddah Project
3. 300 MW Rabigh Project
4. 200 MW Al-Qurayyat Project

The RFP for Category A will be launched on August 1, 2019 for:

1. 50 MW Medina Project
2. 20 MW Rafha Project

Expression of interest for first 6 projects for the year were invited for solar PV technology with 20 MW to 600 MW of generation capacity range in January 2019. A total of 60 companies qualified of which REPDO says 28 are domestic players.

Under NREP round 1, project development rights for 300 MW Sakaka Solar Project were awarded to a consortium led by ACWA Power which announced financial closure in November 2018 (see Financial Closure For 300 MW Sakaka Project).