Saudi Arabia To Launch 700 MW RES Tender

• Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih announced that a total of 700 MW renewable energy capacity will be tendered in September 2017
• 300 MW will be reserved for solar, 400 MW for wind power
• Requests to qualify for bidding will be issued on February 20, 2017, bids will be on April 17, 2017

Saudi Arabia will launch a 700 MW solar and wind power tender this month. The Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih stated in a press conference that the share of solar in the overall capacity will be 300 MW. The other 400 MW will be reserved for wind projects.

Solar power projects are planned for al-Jouf area in the north of Saudi Arabia. Speaking at a press conference, Al-Falih shared that requests to qualify for bidding will be issued on February 20, 2017, and bids will be on April 17, 2017, according to Bloomberg, which quoted the minister as saying, "The terms on renewable contracts will be motivating so that the cost of generating power from these renewable sources will be the lowest in the world."

Successful bidders will be awarded capacities in September 2017. This will be the first Saudi project, which will be tendered through public-private partnership. A separate division has been created by the ministry to look into the tender process.

International financial institutions are likely to be a part of the tender. Projects will be financed and operated by private operators, says Bloomberg.

In June 2016, Saudi Arabia decreased its renewable energy target to 3.45 GW by 2020 but set it at 9.5 GW only 3 years later. This would make up 10% of the total energy mix, as against 50% in the earlier target. Al-Falih had back then stated that his country wants to focus more on natural gas (see Saudi Arabia Slashes Renewables Target).