Related Articles

• 
  Team offers $c1.29/kWh for 2GW Sadawi solar IPP project

  21 October 2024

  A developer team that includes UAE-based Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) has submitted the lowest bid for a contract to develop the 2,000MW Al-Sadawi solar independent power project (IPP) in Saudi Arabia.

  The consortium, which includes South Korea's Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) and China's GD Power Development, submitted a levelised cost of electricity of hals 4.847 ($c1.29) a kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the contract to develop the scheme, which is located in the Eastern Province.

  The second-lowest bidder is a team that includes China's SPIC Huanghe Hydropower Development and France's EDF Renewables, which offered to develop the project for $c1.31/kWh.

  Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) received six proposals from companies for the contracts to develop and operate four solar photovoltaic (PV) IPP projects in Saudi Arabia in August.

  The projects, which have a total combined capacity of 3,700MW, are being tendered under the fifth procurement round of the kingdom's National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP).

  According to SPPC, the lowest and second-lowest bidders in the remaining schemes under round five of the NREP are:

  Al-Masaa solar IPP (Hail): 1,000MW

  • L1: SPIC/EDF Renewables (France): $c1.36/kWh
  • L2: AlJomaih Energy & Water (local) / TotalEnergies Renewables (France): $c1.40/kWh

  Al-Hinakiyah 2 solar IPP (Medina): 400MW

  • L1: SPIC/EDF: $c1.51/kWh
  • L2: Masdar/Kepco/Nesma:  $c1.57/kWh

  Rabigh 2 solar IPP (Mecca): 300MW

  • L1: AlJomaih Energy & Water / TotalEnergies Renewables: $c1.78/kWh
  • L2: Masdar/Kepco/Nesma: $c1.89/kWh

  Saudi utility developer Acwa Power is not among the 23 companies that were prequalified to bid for the fifth round of NREP projects.

  US/India-based Synergy Consulting is providing financial advisory services to SPPC for the NREP fifth-round tender. Germany's Fichtner Consulting is providing technical consultancy services.

  The round five solar PV IPPs take the total capacity of publicly tendered renewable energy projects in Saudi Arabia to over 10,300MW. Solar PV IPPs account for 79%, or about 8,100MW, of the total capacity.

  Four wind IPPs, one of which has yet to be awarded, account for the remaining capacity.

  SPPC is procuring 30% of the kingdom's target renewable energy by 2030. Saudi sovereign wealth vehicle the Public Investment Fund (PIF) is procuring the rest through the Price Discovery Scheme. The PIF has appointed Acwa Power, which it partly owns, as principal partner for these projects.

  The Saudi Energy Ministry recently said that the kingdom plans to procure 20,000MW of renewable energy capacity annually, starting this year and until 2030.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/12768211/main.jpg

  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Ashghal tenders sewerage works

  21 October 2024

  Qatar’s Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has issued a tender for the construction of the remaining works for two packages of the Al-Kheesa foul sewer network.

  According to Ashghal's website, the project packages are called C2018/7 and C2017/118.

  It issued the tender on 9 October and expects to receive bids by 10 November. Asghal set the bid bond for the contract at QR1.7m ($467,000).

  MEED understands the project is located in the Al-Wajba area and is expected to be awarded in March 2025.

  It is one of the most recent infrastructure packages tendered by the authority, which oversaw the multibillion-dollar Local Roads and Drainage Programme (LRDP) in the run-up to the state's hosting of the Fifa World Cup in 2022.

  LRDP includes more than 200 road and drainage schemes worth an estimated QR53.2bn ($14.6bn).

  In September, Ashghal issued a tender for the construction of a road network in the Izghawa and Al-Themaid areas in the northwest of Doha.

  The project involves the construction of a single- and dual-carriageway road network in the area. The overall project is being procured in two work packages.

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Saudi Arabia to award 10.9GW of generation capacity

  21 October 2024

  

   

  Principal buyer Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) is expected to award the contracts to develop four gas-fired power plants and four solar photovoltaic (PV) projects over the next few weeks.

  MEED understands the intention is to announce the preferred and reserved bidders for each of the contracts, possibly by late October or early November.

  SPPC received six proposals from companies for the contracts to develop and operate four solar PV independent power producer (IPP) projects, which have a total combined capacity of 3,700MW, in August.

  The project contracts were tendered under the fifth procurement round of the kingdom's National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP).

  According to industry sources, the companies that submitted bids for the four PV contracts include:

  • EDF Renewables (France) / Etihad Water & Electricity (UAE) / SPIC Huanghe Hydropower Development (China)
  • Masdar (UAE) / Nesma Renewable Energy (local) / Korea Electric Power Corporation (South Korea)
  • Jinko Power (Hong Kong) / Saudi Electricity Company (local)
  • Aljomaih Energy & Water (Jenwa, local) /  Total Energies Renewables (France)
  • Engie / Kahrabel (France/ UAE)
  • Alfanar Company (local)

  The following solar PV projects and their capacities make up round five of the NREP:

  • Al-Sadawi solar IPP (Eastern Province): 2,000MW
  • Al-Mas solar IPP (Hail): 1,000MW
  • Al-Hinakiyah 2 solar IPP (Medina): 400MW
  • Rabigh 2 solar IPP (Mecca): 300MW

  Meanwhile, SPPC received bids on 21 August for the contracts to develop and operate four combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power generation plants in Saudi Arabia with a total combined capacity of 7,200MW.

  The four IPP projects, each with a generation capacity of 1,800MW, are:

  • Remah 1
  • Remah 2
  • Al-Nairiyah 1
  • Al-Nairiyah 2

  Remah 1 and 2, previously known as PP15, will be located in Saudi Arabia’s Central Region, while Al-Nairiyah 1 and 2 will be in the Eastern Region.

  According to sources close to the projects, the teams that submitted bids to develop and operate the two CCGT IPPs are:

  • Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa, UAE) / Jera (Japan) 
  • Acwa Power (local) / Korea Electric Power Corporation (South Korea) / Saudi Electricity Company (local).

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Khazna expects to build more 100MW-scale data centres

  21 October 2024

  

   

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  The 100MW artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced data centre being built in the UAE's northern emirate of Ajman is not the last for UAE-based data centre and cloud services provider Khazna Data Centres.

  "In the near future, we will be announcing other projects on the same scale or larger than the Ajman data centre," Gregory Jasmin, the firm's senior director of business development strategy, tells MEED.

  The executive says the 100MW data centre, once completed, makes Khazna Data Centres "by far the largest data centre developer and operator in the entire Gulf region".

  MEED previously reported that London-headquartered construction firm Laing O'Rourke had started construction on Khazna's latest data centre project in Ajman.

  The new facility is expected to cost about AED1bn ($272m) and be completed within 15 months. Etihad Water & Electricity Company will supply power to the Ajman data centre.

  Jasmin says the company exceeded its capacity target of 300MW by the end of 2023, up from 126MW in early 2022.

  The firm has grown significantly since 2020, when it had a capacity of just 40MW, following the 2021 merger of the data centre divisions of Khazna’s parent firm G42 and telecommunications firm e&, previously known as Etisalat.

  The company is also expanding its presence in other markets, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Kenya.

  "By the end of this year and the start of Q1 next year, we will be in many [more] geographies," says Jasmin.

  Asked about the top driver for the company's future expansion, the executive says: "AI, AI and more AI."

  He adds: "This is based on what the [UAE] leadership wants, which is to have the UAE at the forefront of the AI revolution and with G42, we sit at the core of the infrastructure that is needed for AI.

  "For many years, we were always looking to the West to see what we can do, but now we want to take the lead in building the infrastructure that is powering AI here in the UAE as well as globally," says Jasmin.

  As things stand, the government's AI push has increased interest in building data centre capacity, if not changed the landscape entirely for Khazna.

  In June 2022, the firm's CEO Hassan Al-Naqbi told MEED that increased digitalisation by government entities and enterprises, as well as the adoption of school- and work-from-home practices, mean that the Middle East region will continue to drive double-digit growth in demand for data centre services.

  In addition, the general mandate for regional governments to retain data within their national jurisdictions is also a major driver for the growth of data centre services in the region, which was nearly double the global average at the time.

  Green data centre

  Known for being a major energy consumer, there is a growing awareness of how data centres can be made more sustainable or greener, particularly due to the cooling requirements, which are especially crucial in the Gulf region.

  Jasmin says in some countries, such as Kenya, a 100% renewable energy powered data centre is now feasible.

  Khazna's facility in Kenya is powered by 100% renewable geothermal energy and can go from a scale of 100MW up to 1GW, because "we are located in a green energy park that is fed by renewable energy currently at 900MW, but with the potential to grow to up to 10GW".

  Related reads:

  • AI presents energy conundrum
  • Data centre cost rises
  • Data centres meet upbeat growth

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Dubai Municipality seeks Tasreef partner

  18 October 2024

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  Dubai Municipality has issued a tender notice for a delivery partner to develop and implement a model tailored to the needs of the Tasreef programme, Dubai's planned AED30bn ($8.16bn) rainwater drainage network project.

  MEED understands that the request for proposals targets technical and engineering advisory companies.

  Dubai Municipality expects to receive bids by 7 November, Fahad Al-Awadhi, director of drainage system and recycled water projects department, Dubai Municipality, said in a recent social media post.

  According to Al-Awadhi, the Tasreef programme consists of three streamlines to enhance the effectiveness of Dubai's stormwater system:

  • Improvement of infiltration and sustainable drainage systems and artificial intelligence (AI) applications
  • Upgrade of stormwater systems in Deira, Bur Dubai and Jebel Ali
  • Proposed stormwater tunnels in Deira and Bur Dubai, as well as link tunnels in Jebel Ali

  In addition, the Tasreef programme will address storm event management, including raising awareness about storm impacts, implementing proactive risk control measures, developing marketing and procurement strategies and establishing communication plans. 

  Al-Awadhi added: "The proposed stormwater tunnels, links and terminal pump stations aim to enhance the stormwater network’s capacity by 700% to handle up to 65 millimetres of rainfall per day. This programme represents the largest rainwater collection project in a single system within the region."

  An early study is under way for Tasreef, which Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, approved in June.

  A source familiar with the project said that Dubai Municipality is inclined to consider a public-private partnership (PPP) procurement model for the project.

  Sheikh Mohammed's approval of Tasreef came two months after a storm in April inundated Dubai, causing widespread flooding and damage to infrastructure and property in certain areas.

  The project will raise the emirate-wide drainage network’s capacity to more than 20 million cubic metres of water a day. It is hoped that it will meet Dubai's needs for the next 100 years.

  The project is a continuation of drainage projects launched by Dubai in 2019, covering the Expo Dubai area, Al-Maktoum International Airport City and Jebel Ali.

  The rainwater drainage capacity through tunnels will reach 20 million cubic metres a day, with a flow capacity of 230 cubic metres a second.

  According to data from regional projects tracker MEED Projects, the Dubai Municipality Deep Tunnel Storm Water System (DTSWS) was first announced in 2014.

  It has several components, and the first two packages covering Jebel Ali were awarded in 2017 and 2018 and completed in 2022.

  The remaining packages of the master plan were on hold before the government's announcement on 24 June.

  The DTSWS project is separate from the Dubai Strategic Sewage Tunnels project, which is being developed under a PPP contracting model.  

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/12753886/main.jpg

  Jennifer Aguinaldo