wiredInUSA May 2020

Saudi solar finance

Bidder selection for PV schemes

Image courtesy of ACWA Power

A consortium of Saudi-based ACWA Power, Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) and Alternative Energy Projects Company (AEPC) has achieved financial closure for the 500MW Ibri II solar project in Oman. A syndicate of international and local lenders, including Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Bank Muscat, Riyad Bank, Siemens Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Warba Bank, will provide the $275m senior debt. “Successfully achieving financial closure during these challenging times is a testament to the determination of all the stake holders in this project to keep doing the best we can, within the constraints,” said Paddy Padmanathan, chief executive officer of ACWA Power. Located 300km west of Muscat, the $400 million independent power project (IPP), Oman’s largest utility scale solar plant, is being developed on a “build, own, operate” basis.

Saudi Arabia has published a shortlist of bidders who can compete for the installation of up to 1.5GW of solar photovoltaic capacity across the kingdom. The developers were selected following a request for proposals, in the second round of the country’s National Renewable Energy Program (NREP), in two separate categories. The first category targets two solar projects with a combined capacity of 70MW, while the second covers four schemes totaling 1,400MW. Category A includes the 50MW Madinah and 20MW Rafha projects. According to data issued by the Renewable Energy Project Development Office (REPDO) of Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry, two bidders were shortlisted for each of the two projects. Category B includes the Al-Faisaliah (600MW), Jeddah (300MW), Rabigh (300MW) and Qurrayat (200MW) projects. A total of four bids were submitted for each of the four schemes.

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wiredInUSA - May 2020