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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 2 units of 4.4MW central inverter, 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 for the three projects, which have a total combined capacity of  5,500MW, in September.

  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 that have been 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 is being implemented by the PIF.

  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 currently 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 – are intended to enable and support the local private sector through domestic supply-chain participation.

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
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  Marubeni-led team reaches 1.1GW wind financial close

  21 November 2024

  A developer consortium led by Japan's Marubeni Corporation has reached financial close with a team of lenders for the contracts to develop two wind independent power producer (IPP) projects in Saudi Arabia.

  Marubeni and the local Ajlan & Bros won the contracts to develop the first two wind schemes of the kingdom's National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP) round four, the 600MW Al-Ghat and the 500MW Waad Al-Shamal wind IPPs, in May this year.

  According to an industry source, the following lenders will provide financing for the two projects:

  • Japan Bank for International Cooperation (Jbic)
  • Standard Chartered Bank (UK)
  • Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank (Japan)
  • Commercial Bank of Dubai (UAE)

  The consortium agreed to develop and operate the 600MW Al-Ghat wind IPP project with a new world-record-low levelised electricity cost (LCOE) from wind power of $cents 1.56558 a kilowatt-hour (kWh), or about 5.87094 halalas/kWh.

  The 500MW Waad Al-Shamal project has also achieved a second world-record-low tariff for wind power of $cents 1.70187/kWh or 6.38201 halalas/kWh, the energy ministry announced in May.

  The tariff achieved for Al-Ghat is almost 22% lower compared to the LCOE agreed for Saudi Arabia's first wind IPP, the 400MW Dumat Al-Jandal scheme, which a team comprising the UAE's Abu Dhabi Future Energy (Masdar) and France's EDF Renewables won in 2019.

  Marubeni will own 51% while Ajlan will maintain a 49% stake in the project company that will implement the projects.

  MEED previously reported that the same team is expected to win the contract to develop and operate the third wind scheme of NREP round four, the 700MW Yanbu wind IPP.

  The contract could be awarded before the year-end, according to a source.

  It is understood that other teams, separately led by local utility developer Acwa Power, France's Engie and EDF Renewables, submitted proposals for the contract to develop the Yanbu wind IPP scheme.

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  L&T signs $400m Riyadh-Kudmi transmission contract

  20 November 2024

  India-headquartered contracting firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has signed a contract with state utility Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) for the construction of a new 500-kilovolt (kV) high-voltage direct current (HVDC) project in Saudi Arabia.

  The contract is valued at SR1.51bn ($400m).

  The project involves constructing a section of the HVDC transmission lines from the Riyadh Power Plant 14 (PP14) in the capital to the southwest coastal region of Kudmi.

  MEED understands that the contract was awarded on a lump-sum turnkey basis.

  The other two sections of the HVDC transmission project, which has a total length of 1,089-kilometres (km), have been awarded to South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company and Saudi Services for Electro Mechanic Works (SSEM).

  Earlier this month,  Hyundai E&C announced winning a KRW1tn ($725m) contract as part of the PP14-Kudmi HVDC network project. Hyundai E&C's portion of the total package extends over 369km, and is expected to be completed by January 2027.

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Dewa tenders motorised butterfly valves contract

  20 November 2024

  State utility Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) has issued a tender for a contract to build the first phase of a project to convert butterfly valves to motorised butterfly valves for its water transmission pipeline.

  The utility set a AED7.1m ($1.9m) bid bond for the contract.

  According to Dewa, the closing date for submitting the completed tender online is 26 December.

  Dewa plans to increase its water desalination capacity from 495 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD) to 735MIGD by 2030, with reverse osmosis capacity accounting for around 303MIGD.

  By 2030, it aims for 100% of desalinated water to be produced using clean energy and waste heat.

  Dewa has also extended the bid deadline for a contract to design, supply, install and commission a 2.5MW alkaline electrolyser turnkey project to 9 December.

  The initial tender closing date was in mid-September. 

  Alkaline electrolysis is one of the most common methods of producing green hydrogen. 

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  OQGN gets approval for 193km gas transport pipeline

  20 November 2024

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  Oman’s OQ Gas Networks (OQGN) has said it has received regulatory approval to build a new 193-kilometre (km) loop line between Fahud and Sohar in the sultanate.

  The Fahud-Sohar loop line project, which will feature a 42-inch gas transport pipeline, “is designed to bolster Oman’s natural gas infrastructure and support regional energy needs”, OQGN said in a filing with the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX), where its shares started trading in October last year.

  Scheduled for completion in 2027, the new pipeline will have a gas transport capacity of 9 million cubic metres a day.

  OQGN, a subsidiary of Oman’s state-owned energy holding conglomerate OQ, manages a network of 4,045km of gas pipelines, along with three compressor stations at Fahud, Nimr and Buraimi, and 29 gas supply stations. The company delivers gas to 130 consumers, including power plants, desalination facilities and other industrial complexes.

  In August, the company inaugurated a new 208km-long gas pipeline in Dhofar governorate. The project, known as Saib, increases the total size of OQGN’s natural gas transportation network (NGTN) to 4,258km, and raises its transport capacity by 60% from 10 million to 16 million cubic metres a day.

  The new pipeline runs alongside an existing 24-inch pipeline in Dhofar in the southern part of the sultanate.

  ALSO READ: OQ seeks to raise $490m from downstream products unit IPO

  OQGN previously said it plans to increase the pipeline length to 4,222km in 2024, then to 4,287km in 2025, 4,344km in 2026 and 4,472km in 2027.

  The firm expects network capacity to rise from 69.3 billion cubic metres in 2023 to 71.1 billion cubic metres in 2024, 77.1 billion cubic metres in 2025 and 2026, and 79.7 billion cubic metres by 2027.

  Correspondingly, the volume of gas the pipelines transport is projected to increase from 40.5 billion cubic metres in 2023 to 41.7 billion cubic metres in 2024, 43 billion cubic metres in 2025, 44.3 billion cubic metres in 2026, and 45.6 billion cubic metres by 2027.

  Parent entity OQ published details on OQGN’s current and upcoming projects in a prospectus released last October as part of its subsidiary’s initial public offering (IPO) exercise.

  OQGN had been allocated a capex budget of $148m for 2023, while spending in the medium term has been set in the $600m-$750m range, OQ said in the IPO prospectus.

  OQGN has also been tasked with pushing through several projects to expand its NGTN and improve connections with its consumers.

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  Indrajit Sen