Foreign
Saudi Arabia to build the largest photovoltaic facility in the Middle East
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday the signing of an agreement to build the largest photovoltaic solar installation in the Middle East and North Africa region.
The agreement was signed between Water and Electricity Holding Company (Badeel), a company owned by Saudi Arabia’s public investment sovereign wealth fund (PIF), and ACWA Power, a power generation developer, investor and operator. leader in Saudi Arabia.
The 2,060-megawatt solar photovoltaic (PV) plant at Al Shuaibah in Makkah province is expected to reach commercial operation by the fourth quarter of 2025, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Badeel and ACWA Power will jointly own the project with each company holding a 50 percent equity interest through the establishment of Shuaibah Two Electrical Energy Company, a joint venture dedicated to developing the project.
Yazeed A. Al-Humied, deputy governor and MENA‘s chief investment officer at PIF, said the project is part of PIF’s commitment to provide 70 percent of Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy by 2030.
He added that renewable energy is one of PIF’s priority sectors as part of its national strategy, which focuses on unlocking the capacities of promising sectors to enhance Saudi Arabia’s efforts in diversifying revenue sources.
Saudi Arabia announced in September five new renewable projects with a total capacity reaching 3,300 megawatts to produce electricity, including three projects using wind power and two using solar power.
The projects are part of the kingdom’s goal of achieving the best energy mix to produce electricity in Saudi Arabia from renewable energy resources. ■
(Xinhua)
