meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Acwa Power widens equity gap in power developer league

2 October 2023

 

The equity gap between Saudi utility developer Acwa Power and the other private utility developers in the GCC region has continued to widen, according to MEED’s annual GCC power developer ranking.

Acwa Power’s net capacity reached 13,340MW. This has doubled its lead to 67 per cent over France’s Engie, whose net capacity of 7,987MW has remained unchanged.

Over the past 12 months, power-purchase agreements were signed for six solar independent power producer (IPP) projects, as well as for a multi-utility public-private partnership contract and a cogeneration plant.

The seven contracts have a total combined power generation capacity of more than 8,000MW.

Acwa Power gained more than 2,900MW in net capacity over this period. This was due in large part to a 35 per cent equity share in the 2,060MW Shuaibah 2 solar power project and a 50 per cent shareholding in each of the Saad 2, Ar-Rass 2 and Kahfah solar photovoltaic (PV) projects. 

These contracts were procured by the kingdom's Public Investment Fund (PIF) through the Saudi renewable energy price discovery scheme.

Notably, the 600MW Shuaibah 1 solar IPP scheme, which was publicly tendered and awarded to an Acwa Power-led consortium under the second round of the National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP) in 2021, has been combined with the PIF’s Shuaibah 2.

Under the final scheme, which reached financial close this year, Acwa Power’s shares in Shuaibah 1 decreased from 50 per cent to 35 per cent. The shares of its partners Gulf Investment Corporation and Al-Babtain, which originally maintained 30 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, have been bought by PIF subsidiary the Water & Electricity Holding Company (Badeel) and Saudi Aramco Power Company (Sapco).

As with Engie, the net and gross capacities of Japanese firms Marubeni, Mitsui, Sumitomo and Jera also remained unchanged, with no new contract wins in the period.

Ranked 10th in the previous year’s listing, France’s EDF rose three spots this year to claim seventh place, which was previously held by Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco).

EDF’s rise came as a result of winning contracts for two major schemes. It was selected together with South Korea’s Korea Western Power Company (Kowepo) to develop Oman’s 500MW Manah 1 solar IPP project, and was also awarded a multi-utility contract with the UAE’s Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) for the Amaala development in Saudi Arabia, which includes a 250MW solar power farm.

EDF overtook Kepco despite the South Korean firm’s successful bid for the Jafurah cogeneration plant, where it maintains a 60 per cent equity. The scheme’s power generation plant has a capacity of 320MW.

Singapore’s Sembcorp and China’s Jinko Power, which comprise the team that won the Manah 2 solar IPP contract in Oman, occupy the ninth and 10th spots, respectively.

Saudi utility developer Aljomaih Energy & Water Company relinquished its 10th spot last year.

Power tariffs have scope to improve

A different view

Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy price discovery tool is becoming a potential game-changer for the competitive landscape of GCC power developers.

It allows Acwa Power to submit a proposal to match the most recent prices obtained through each round of the NREP public tendering process, which is overseen by the state-backed principal buyer, Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC).

Under the price discovery scheme, the PIF will only invite other developers to bid for a contract if Acwa Power fails to match prices achieved through the public tenders.

Acwa Power has so far won all five of these contracts, which have a total combined capacity of 8,110MW.

Since the PIF is tasked with procuring 70 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s 58,700MW renewable energy capacity target by 2030, the Saudi sovereign wealth vehicle is expected to procure a further 32,000MW of renewable capacity over the coming years using the price discovery scheme.

Given the scale of the PIF’s programme, and the extent to which it has expanded Acwa Power’s renewables portfolio this year, a separate league table that includes only IPPs and independent water and power producer (IWPP) projects that have been publicly tendered, or simultaneously tendered to a pool of qualified private utility developers, offers interesting insights.

Excluding the PIF contracts reveals that the ranking of the private utility developers based on their net capacity – or the capacity commensurate to a developer’s equity shareholding in each power generation asset – is unchanged. Acwa Power remains at the top, with a total equity capacity of more than 9,800MW, compared to Engie’s nearly 8,000MW.

However, their gross capacity rankings reverse when the PIF contracts are excluded. Engie leads by 4 per cent in terms of gross capacity, or the total capacity of power plants that they are developing alone or with consortium partners.

Gas revival

No new gas-fired IPP or IWPP projects have been let in the GCC since 2021, when most principal buyers and utilities began to focus on increasing their renewable energy capacity in line with their countries’ decarbonisation agendas.

With the exception of the UAE's Fujairah F3 and Saudi Aramco’s Tanajib and Jafurah cogeneration plants, solar and wind power plants have accounted for the majority of private power generation capacity that has been procured since 2020.

This is set to change in the next 12-24 months as renewed demand for combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plants is driven by the need to decommission old fleets that burn liquid fuel, or to replace expiring baseload capacity.

As of September this year, gas-fired power plants account for approximately 60 per cent of the GCC region's planned power generation plants that are likely to be awarded in the next 24 months, according to MEED research. 

The bid evaluation process is under way for four gas-fired IPPs in Saudi Arabia with a total combined capacity of 7,200MW. These are the first gas-fired IPP schemes to be procured by the kingdom since 2016.

A further three IWPP schemes – Kuwait's Al-Zour North 2 & 3 and Al-Khiran 1 and Qatar’s Facility E – are in the procurement stage. These schemes have a total combined power generation capacity of 6,800MW.

Next year, SPPC is expected to begin the procurement process for two gas-fired IPPs: the PP15 in Riyadh and another in Al-Khafji. Each is expected to have power generation capacity of 3,600MW.

Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) is also expected to initiate the procurement process for two CCGT plants with a total combined capacity of 2,500MW before the end of 2023.

Renewable arena

The revival of gas-fired schemes will not necessarily come at the expense of renewables, however.

The region’s largest market has ramped up its issuance of solar and wind tenders over the past 12 months and is expected to sustain or even accelerate the pace of its renewables procurement.

Saudi Arabia needs to procure at least 43,000MW of renewable energy capacity through public tenders and direct negotiations over the next six years to meet its 2030 target. This equates to about 7,200MW a year – twice its current average.

Overall, the future strength of the market for private utility developers is ensured by a growing clientele in Saudi Arabia that includes Neom and its subsidiary Enowa, in addition to the utilities in the other five GCC states, and the large conglomerates and organisations that aim to build captive power plants.

A case in point is the 35,000MW of solar and wind energy projects are in the pre-development stage for Neom, which aims to be powered 100 per cent by renewable energy by 2030.

Abu Dhabi also plans to procure at least 1,500MW of solar PV capacity annually over the next 10 years, in line with its goals for decarbonising its electricity system.

Developers’ dilemma

A Dubai-based executive with one of the international developers active in the region says: “It has been a very busy year for us. If all of these plans come through in the next 12-24 months, it will be even busier.”

The executive is unsure whether all the planned gas-fired projects will materialise, however. “We have been here before, and some of these projects have experienced major delays in the past for reasons that are not even related to decarbonisation or net-zero targets.”

Given the GCC states' carbon emissions reduction targets and the recent easing of supply chain constraints, solar and wind IPPs appear to offer greater certainty for utility developers, many of which are also beholden to internal decarbonisation targets that include a reduction of their existing thermal fleets.

The contracts for five solar and three wind IPPs in the region are expected to be awarded soon.

Masdar has outpriced Acwa Power for the 1,800MW sixth phase of Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum Solar Park project. A team of EDF and Kowepo has also submitted the lowest bid for the 1,500MW Al-Ajban solar PV IPP in Abu Dhabi.

In addition, SPPC has shortlisted bidders for two solar PV IPPs with a total combined capacity of 1,500MW under the NREP fourth round. It also expects to receive bids soon for three wind IPPs with a total combined capacity of 1,800MW.

Tenders for the NREP’s fifth round and Abu Dhabi’s fourth utility-scale solar PV farm are also expected imminently.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11143965/main.gif
Jennifer Aguinaldo

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Contractors win deals for Saudi Energy transmission projects

    23 June 2026

     

    Saudi Arabia-based Haif Company has won contracts for two separate substation projects in Saudi Arabia, according to sources.

    The first involves the construction of a 132/33/13.8kV substation for Saudi Energy, formerly Saudi Electricity Company, which will replace the existing Tabuk substation 2 in Tabuk, northwestern Saudi Arabia.

    The works include the construction of a new substation, along with GIS, transformers, switchgear, capacitor banks, MV/LV cable systems and protection infrastructure.

    Ten firms submitted bids for the project last December. The bidders included:

    • Al-Babtain Contracting (Saudi Arabia)
    • Alfanar Projects (Saudi Arabia)
    • Al-Gihaz Holding (Saudi Arabia) 
    • Al-Osais International Holding (Saudi Arabia)
    • Danway Electrical & Mechanical Engineering (UAE)
    • Haif Company (Saudi Arabia)
    • Mohammed Al-Ojaimi Group (Saudi Arabia)
    • Nesma Infrastructure & Technology (Saudi Arabia)
    • Saudi Services for Electro Mechanic Works (Saudi Arabia)
    • Tareg Al-Jaafari Contracting Est (Saudi Arabia)

    In addition to Tabuk, Saudi Energy is planning several power transmission projects in Al-Jouf, Medina and the Eastern Province as part of the kingdom’s push to upgrade its electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure

    The second Haif contract involves a 132/33kV substation project at Hail to support the integration of solar generation from the Al-Kahfah photovoltaic facility into the network. Together, the projects are valued at about $90m.

    Elsewhere, the local Trading & Development Partnership has been appointed to build a 132/33kV substation at Al-Jouf, in Al-Jouf Province.

    The facility will deliver a transmission capacity of about 168 MVA to the Al-Busitaa agricultural site, supporting the Liquid Fuel Displacement Programme, which aims to reduce reliance on diesel generators and fuel oil for power generation.

    Nine bids were submitted for the project last year.

    According to MEED Projects, Saudi Energy has almost $2.3bn-worth of projects currently under bid evaluation, including the 500kV overhead transmission line, approximately 466km long, for the Eastern Operating Area and the Central Operating Area in the Eastern Province. The main contract is expected to be awarded later in 2026.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17397346/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Morocco approves Khalladi wind farm expansion

    23 June 2026

    Acwa Maroc, a subsidiary of Saudi developer Acwa, has secured approval to expand the Khalladi wind independent power project (IPP) in northern Morocco by 40MW.

    The extension will increase the project’s total installed capacity from 120MW to 160MW. The Khalladi wind farm is located at Djebel Sendouq, about 50 kilometres from Tangier. The existing facility comprises 40 wind turbines rated at 3MW each.

    The project operates under Morocco’s Law 13.09 renewable energy framework, which allows private renewable energy firms to develop generation assets and supply electricity directly to industrial consumers.

    According to Acwa’s website, the facility entered commercial operation in 2018 and supplies electricity to Morocco’s state-owned utility Onee and large industrial customers under a 20-year power-purchase agreement.

    Acwa holds a 51% stake in the project alongside Participation Khalladi SA (24%) and ARIF North Africa Investment SARL, an infrastructure investment fund managed by France’s Amundi (25%).

    The engineering, procurement and construction contract was executed by Denmark’s Vestas, France’s Cegelec and Morocco’s Stam and AGTT.

    Morocco is targeting renewables to account for 52% of its installed power generation capacity by 2030.

    The operational wind farm generates about 397GWh of electricity a year. It is understood that the expansion project has already entered the development phase.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17394999/main5046.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Libya plans to distribute oil budget in July

    23 June 2026

     

    Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) has communicated to contractors in the country that it is expecting funds from the country’s budget to be distributed to state-owned oil companies in July, according to industry sources.

    Earlier this year, the country’s rival legislative bodies approved a unified state budget for the first time in more than 13 years.

    The Central Bank of Libya confirmed on 11 April that both chambers had endorsed the budget, calling it a key step towards restoring financial stability after prolonged division.

    The total budget was valued at LD190bn ($29.95bn), and LD12bn ($1.9bn) was allocated to the country’s NOC.

    An additional LD40bn ($6.3bn) was allocated for “development projects”.

    At the time, Libya stated that a joint committee had been formed to help prioritise development projects, and the projects had been listed in the budget.

    Over the past decade, the country has had two rival governments; the last time the country operated under a single national budget was in 2013.

    The country’s two legislatures are the eastern-based House of Representatives and the Tripoli-based High Council of State.

    As a result of the US and Israel’s war with Israel, there has been significant disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which normally transports around 20% of the world’s oil and gas exports.

    This has driven global energy prices higher, with Brent hitting more than $114 a barrel in May this year.

    The price of Brent remains 10% higher than prior to the US and Israel attacking Iran on 28 February.

    Libya is well-positioned to capitalise on the ongoing uncertainty around exports via the Strait of Hormuz, as energy-importing nations seek reliable oil and gas supplies.

    The North African country is located near Europe, with several large oil and gas export ports and a pipeline that transports gas to Italy.

    Libya has the largest oil reserves in Africa, but has struggled to implement projects to develop them over recent years due to political infighting and security problems.

    READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17389246/main2010.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Contractors prepare bids for Jafurah fifth expansion phase

    23 June 2026

     

    Contractors are preparing to submit bids to Saudi Aramco for a major project representing the fifth expansion phase of the Jafurah unconventional gas development programme in Saudi Arabia.

    The main scope of work on the Jafurah fifth expansion phase project involves the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of three gas compression plants at the giant gas basin in the kingdom’s Eastern Province. Each plant will be capable of processing up to 200 million cubic feet a day (cf/d).

    Aramco is said to have issued the main EPC tender for the project during the first quarter of the year. The current deadline for contractors to submit bids is 12 July, according to sources.

    Aramco issued a solicitation of interest (SoI) for the Jafurah fifth expansion phase project in mid-November, with contractors submitting responses by 30 November, MEED previously reported.

    UK-headquartered Wood Group has carried out the front-end engineering and design (feed) for the Jafurah fifth expansion phase project.

    The Jafurah basin is the largest liquid-rich shale gas play in the Middle East, spanning around 17,000 square kilometres. The reserve is estimated to contain 229 trillion cubic feet of gas and 75 billion stock-tank barrels of condensate.

    Aramco recently brought the greenfield Jafurah gas processing plant online, with a production capacity of 450 million cf/d, marking the commissioning of the first phase of its $100bn capital expenditure programme to produce gas from the unconventional resource base.

    The Saudi energy giant had earlier stated it expected to start gas production at Jafurah in 2025, with the intention of progressively ramping up to 2 billion cf/d of sales gas, 420 million cf/d of ethane and 630,000 barrels a day (b/d) of high-value liquids by 2030.

    Aramco has said that its unconventional gas programme, at peak production, is expected to generate electricity equivalent to displacing 500,000 b/d of oil.

    Jafurah gas development phases

    Along with overseeing the main tending exercise for EPC works on the fifth expansion phase project at Jafurah, Aramco also recently kicked off EPC works on the fourth expansion phase.

    MEED reported in April that Aramco had selected Indian contractor Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (L&TEH) as the main contractor for the Jafurah fourth expansion phase, which sources estimate could be valued at around $1.5bn.

    The main scope of work on the Jafurah fourth expansion phase project involves the EPC of two gas compression trains at the giant gas basin in the kingdom’s Eastern Province. Each plant will be able to process up to 200 million cubic feet a day (cf/d).

    Aramco has, however, only issued a draft letter of award for the project to L&TEH, based on which the contractor has started EPC works. The official contract award and final investment decision (FID) are pending, according to sources.

    Progress on the fourth and fifth expansion phases of the Jafurah unconventional gas development programme continues, as EPC work on the third phase advances.

    In July 2024, Aramco issued a non-binding letter of intent to a consortium of Tecnicas Reunidas and Sinopec Group for the EPC contract for the Jafurah third expansion phase. The value of the contract is estimated to be $2.24bn.

    The objective of the third expansion phase of Jafurah is similar to that of the fourth phase of development. The main scope of work involves the EPC of three gas compression plants, each with a capacity of 200 million cf/d.

    The third phase’s scope of work also includes building a 230kV substation to power the new gas compression plants and installing other utilities units, piping systems and safety equipment.

    The selection of contractors for the third expansion phase of the Jafurah development came within weeks of Aramco officially awarding EPC contracts for the second expansion phase, which aims to raise its processing potential to up to 2 billion cf/d of raw gas produced from the Jafurah field.

    Aramco awarded 16 contracts, worth a combined total of about $12.4bn, for the second expansion phase on 30 June 2024.

    The EPC scope of work on the project involves the construction of gas compression facilities and associated pipelines and the expansion of the Jafurah gas plant, including the construction of gas processing trains, utilities, sulphur and export facilities, Aramco said in a statement.

    The main EPC packages of the Jafurah second expansion phase project, their estimated values and the selected contractors are:

    • Package 1 – gas processing plant and main process units – $2.9bn: Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India)
    • Package 2 – utilities and offsites – $2.4bn: Hyundai Engineering (South Korea)
    • Package 3 – gas compression units – $1bn: Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon
    • Riyas natural gas liquids (NGL) package 1 – NGL fractionation trains – $1bn: Tecnicas Reunidas / Refining & Chemical Engineering Group (part of China’s Sinopec Group)
    • Riyas NGL package 2 – utilities, storage and export facilities – $2.2bn: Tecnicas Reunidas/Refining & Chemical Engineering Group
    • Riyas NGL package 6 – site preparation works – $107m: Mofarreh Alharbi & Partners (Saudi Arabia)
    • Riyas NGL package 9 – temporary construction facilities – $80m: Mofarreh Alharbi & Partners

    Aramco kickstarted EPC works on the first phase of the programme in November 2021 by awarding $10bn-worth of subsurface and EPC contracts.

    In February 2020, Aramco received a capital expenditure grant of $110bn from the Saudi government for the long-term phased development of the Jafurah unconventional gas resource base.

    The Jafurah unconventional gas development programme is central to Aramco’s goal of increasing gas production capacity. The target has recently been raised to 80%, with 2021 as the baseline, up from 60%, to meet rising domestic and global demand. The company expects life-cycle investment in Jafurah to exceed $100bn.

    Prior to the commissioning of the Jafurah gas plant in the last quarter of this year, Aramco completed an $11bn lease-and-leaseback deal in late October for gas processing facilities at the Jafurah unconventional gas reserve with a consortium led by funds managed by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), part of US asset manager BlackRock.

    Under the transaction, which Aramco started in August, a newly formed subsidiary – Jafurah Midstream Gas Company (JMGC) – will lease development and usage rights to the Jafurah field gas processing plant and the Riyas natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionation facility.

    After 20 years, JMGC will lease the assets back to Aramco. JMGC will collect a tariff payable by Aramco in exchange for granting Aramco the exclusive right to receive, process and treat raw gas from the Jafurah resource base.

    Aramco will hold a 51% majority stake in JMGC, while the GIP-led consortium will hold the remaining 49%. Investors participating in the GIP-led consortium include Hassana Investment Company, The Arab Energy Fund (TAEF) and Aberdeen Investcorp Infrastructure Partners, as well as other institutional investors from North and Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17385386/main5205.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Egypt approves plans for 869MW wind power plant

    22 June 2026

    Egypt’s Cabinet has approved plans for French renewable energy developer Voltalia to develop an 869MW wind power project.

    The scheme will be built on land allocated by the New & Renewable Energy Authority (NREA), according to a statement posted by the Cabinet following its most recent weekly meeting.

    Voltalia will make an initial investment of $53m and has committed to achieving commercial operations by December 2028.

    Voltalia already operates the 32MW Ra solar plant at the Benban solar complex in Aswan and is expanding its renewable energy portfolio in Egypt.

    Previously, in 2024, it signed a framework agreement with Egypt’s Taqa Arabia to develop a green hydrogen and renewable power cluster near the Ain Sokhna port in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

    The green hydrogen development is planned in two phases, each centred on a 500MW electrolyser powered by more than 1.3GW of renewable generation capacity. The project, still in its early stages, is expected to produce up to 350,000 tonnes of green ammonia a year.

    Voltalia’s partnership with Taqa Arabia also includes plans for a 3.2GW hybrid wind and solar project to repower the existing 545MW Zafarana wind farm in Suez Governorate. The Cabinet statement did not indicate whether the newly approved 869MW wind project forms part of that proposal.

    Meanwhile, the developer won another contract, earlier this year, to develop a 132MW solar power project in Tunisia’s Gabes region.

    The project, known as Wadi, marked Voltalia’s third major solar award in the country after the Sagdoud and Menzel Habib projects awarded in 2024.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17376730/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall