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Chinese firm wins 2.6GW Saudi inverter deals

21 November 2024

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors implementing two of Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) cluster-four solar photovoltaic (PV) projects have awarded contracts for the supply of inverters to China’s Sineng Electric.

The Jiangsu-headquartered company secured an order for 1GW of inverters from China Energy Engineering Group Consortium for the Haden solar PV project and 1GW from Indian contracting firm Larsen & Toubro for the Al-Khushaybi solar PV project.

Sineng will provide its 8.8MW MV turnkey stations, each comprising two units of 4.4MW central inverters, a transformer and a ring main unit (RMU) for the solar projects.

Designed to “withstand extreme temperatures [of] up to 51ºC … and strong sand-laden winds”, the 8.8MW MV turnkey stations are expected to deliver consistent and reliable performance throughout the solar PV plants’ operational lifespan.

The PIF awarded the contracts to develop three cluster-four solar PV projects to a consortium led by Saudi utility developer Acwa Power earlier this year.

The developer consortium, which includes PIF-backed Water & Electricity Holding Company (Badeel) and Saudi Aramco Power Company (Sapco), reached financial close in September for the three projects, which have a total combined capacity of 5,500MW.

The solar PV projects and their capacities are:

  • Haden solar PV (Mecca): 2,000MW
  • Muwayh (Mecca): 2,000MW
  • Al-Khushaybi (Qassim): 1,500MW

The respective project companies formed for the three projects are Buraiq Renewable Energy Company, Moya Renewable Energy Company and Nabah Renewable Energy Company.

Acwa Power’s effective shareholding in each of the three projects is 35.1%. Badeel owns 34.9% and Sapco, a subsidiary of state majority-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco, owns the remaining shares.

The project companies signed financing documents amounting to SR9.7bn ($2.6bn), Acwa Power previously announced. The financing duration is 27.3 years.

The three projects are being procured under the National Renewable Energy Programme’s (NREP) Price Discovery Scheme, which the PIF is implementing.

Under this scheme, the projects are directly negotiated with Acwa Power and its selected partners.

The three new solar PV facilities have a combined value of SR12.3bn ($3.3bn) and are expected to become operational in the first half of 2027.

The PIF and its partners are developing several solar PV projects with a total capacity of 13.6GW, involving over $9bn in investments. These joint projects – including Sudair, Shuaibah 2, Ar Rass 2, Al-Kahfah and Saad 2 – aim to support the local private sector through domestic supply-chain participation.

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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