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• 
  China’s Top starts $400m Aramco housing construction

  12 September 2024

  Top International Engineering Corporation, the international entity of China’s Shaanxi Construction Corporation, has started the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on the SR1.5bn ($400m) Saudi Aramco staff accommodation across the remote sites of Haradh and Wudayhi.

  Senior executives from the developer team that won the contract, which comprises local companies Lamar Holding and Asyad Group, and Top broke ground on the project on 11 September, less than two months after the project reached financial close.

   A special project vehicle, First Developers Real Estate Development Company, has been formed to implement the Haradh and Wudayhi housing public-private partnership (PPP) project.

  According to Hani Abdulhadi, Lamar Holding's managing director, Top’s proven ability to deliver complex infrastructure projects on a global scale makes them the “perfect partner for this ambitious development”.

  The project’s total built-up area will exceed 140,000 square metres, making it one of the largest staff housing developments in the region.

  The complexes are expected to house up to 2,800 employees across 11 residential buildings. There are also two mosques and a clinic, as well as a refurbished recreational facility and an expanded medical facility at each complex.

  The scope of the contract includes the construction of a sewage treatment plant operations building and the installation of chiller plants, according to regional projects tracker MEED Projects.

  Aramco first tendered the Haradh and Wudayhi PPP contract in 2019, before retendering it in 2022.

  Saudi Aramco received three bids for the retendered contract on 25 August 2022. The other two bidding teams were led by Al-Rajhi Development Company and Yamama, both based in Saudi Arabia.

  MEED previously reported that local lenders led by Riyad Bank had agreed to provide debt for the project.

  US/India-based Synergy Consulting provided financial advisory services to the Lamar-Asyad team.  

  Aramco is procuring two other housing PPP schemes. 

  A team led by the local El-Seif Engineering Contracting Company was awarded the contract to develop and implement the Tanajib housing PPP project in early 2022. The project scope included the development of 2,500 housing units, in addition to a food court, parking facilities and infrastructure.

  In January 2023, a team led by Lamar Holding is understood to have won the contract to develop Aramco's staff accommodation located on Abu Ali Island. The project is expected to house 700 employees and is valued at an estimated $250m.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/12508651/main.jpg

  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Firms prepare Noor Midelt 3 bids

  11 September 2024

  Prequalified utility developers and investors are preparing to submit their proposals for a contract to develop the next phase of Morocco's Noor Midelt solar independent power producer (IPP) programme.

  Noor Midelt 3 IPP scheme is expected to have a solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity of up to 400MW and a battery energy storage system capacity not exceeding 400 megawatt-hours (MWh).       

  The Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen) requested proposals for the contract in June. It initially expected to receive bids on 23 September but the deadline is understood to have been extended.

  The project will be located at the same complex as the first two phases of the scheme.

  In December, Masen prequalified eight groups to bid for the Noor Midelt 3 solar IPP contract. These are:

  • Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) (UAE) / Taqa Morocco (local)
  • Acciona (Spain) / Green of Africa (local)
  • Acwa Power (Saudi Arabia) / Nareva Holding (local)
  • Cobra (Spain) / Vinci Concessions (France)
  • EDF Renouvelables (France) / Mitsui & Co (Japan)  
  • Iberdrola (Spain)
  • Kahrabel (UAE) / GDF International (France)
  • SPIC Huanghe Hydropower Development (China) / Amea Power (UAE)

  The Noor Midelt 3 IPP project will be implemented according to a 30-year power-purchase agreement between Masen as the offtaker and the project company that will be formed for the scheme. 

  In the case of participation by any international finance institutions, such as Germany’s KFW or the European Investment Bank, those banks’ procurement rules will be applied to the project, according to Masen.

  The Noor Midelt 3 plant is expected to be built on a dedicated and available site that Masen will provide under a land lease or equivalent agreement.

  This suggests that common infrastructure such as the water supply, roads and telecommunications services will be shared, and will be constructed “to ensure overall consistency of the solar complex and optimise benefits from a simultaneous development of the infrastructure”.   

  US/India-based Synergy Consulting is the client's financial adviser for the project.

  Midelt 2

  Separately, in July last year, Masen prequalified six teams to bid for a contract to develop the second phase of its Noor Midelt solar programme. The Noor Midelt 2 solar IPP consists of a 400MW solar PV power plant with battery storage of two hours.

  The prequalified companies are: 

  • Acwa Power (Saudi Arabia)
  • Cobra Servicios, Communicaciones y Energia / Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios (Spain)
  • EDF Renouvelables (France) / Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar, UAE)
  • Enel Green Power (Italy) / Taqa Morocco (local)
  • Iberdrola Renovables (Spain) / Dongfang Electric (China) / Gaia Project (local)
  • International Power (Belgium) and Nareva (local)

  At the time, the planned scheme was expected to include thermal concentrated solar power and PV solar components, similar to Noor Midelt 1, which was awarded to a consortium of EDF and Masdar.

  Clean energy target

  Morocco has set a target for 52% of its energy to be produced from clean energy sources by 2030, one of the most ambitious targets in the Middle East and North Africa region.

  Morocco aims to bring its renewable capacity to 10,000MW by 2030. Solar PV capacity is expected to comprise 4,500MW, with wind and hydroelectric comprising 4,200MW and 1,300MW, respectively.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/12500051/main.jpg

  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Saudi Arabia’s power sector motors on

  11 September 2024

  

   

  Saudi Arabia’s power sector has sustained its project activity momentum over the past six months.

  The principal buyer, Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC), awarded the contracts to develop two publicly-tendered wind independent power producer (IPP) projects, with a total combined capacity of 1,100MW, under the fourth round of the kingdom’s National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP).

  The Public Investment Fund (PIF), responsible for procuring through direct negotiations 70% of the kingdom’s 2030 target renewable energy capacity, let three large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects with a total combined capacity of around 5,500MW.

  State majority-owned Saudi Aramco also awarded a contract to develop an independent cogeneration project with an electricity generation capacity of 475MW.

  During the same period, SPPC began the tendering process for two combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) projects, the Remah and Nairiyah IPPs, each with a capacity of 3,600MW, and for four solar PV schemes with a total combined capacity of 3.7GW under the NREP fifth round.

  “It has been a very busy summer,” notes a senior executive with an international utility developer, referring to the submission of bids in August for the contracts to develop the Remah 1 & 2, Nairiyah 1 & 2, and the NREP round-five solar PV schemes.

  Notably, the principal buyer has initiated the selection process for consultants who will advise on its next pair of independent CCGT power plants – the 2,400MW Al-Rais and the 3,600MW Riyadh 16 projects.

  Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) and SPPC are also understood to be conducting bilateral talks for the development of five CCGT power plants, which, along with those currently being built or tendered, support the kingdom’s mandate to replace fleets running on liquid fuel.

  Essentially, the reported SEC projects, each with a capacity of 1,500MW-2,000MW, bear some similarities to PIF’s directly negotiated renewable energy schemes.

  These projects help substantiate previous reports that SEC has been seeking to lock in gas turbine equipment deals with a total capacity of 30GW, in line with an overall capacity expansion plan within and outside Saudi Arabia.

  The next few years can only get busier, with Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, confirming in June plans to tender 20,000MW of renewable energy projects annually starting this year, in line with reaching 100GW-130GW of installed capacity by 2030, "depending on electricity demand growth".

  This represents a major upward revision to the official 2030 renewable energy capacity target of 58,700MW.

  However, it is unclear if this new target considers the renewable capacity that will be installed to power Neom, Saudi Arabia’s largest gigaproject, as well as the requirement of green hydrogen projects that the PIF plans to codevelop.

  Wind IPPs

  In May, SPPC awarded a team led by Japanese utility developer Marubeni Corporation the contracts to develop the 600MW Al-Ghat wind and 700MW Waad Al-Shamal wind IPPs.

  The team of Marubeni and its partner, the local Alajlan Brothers, is also expected to win the contract to develop the 700MW Yanbu wind IPP, the final wind scheme included in NREP’s round four.

  These are important awards for Marubeni, which last won an IPP contract in Saudi Arabia in 2021 for the 300MW Rabigh solar scheme.

  Notably, the Al-Ghat and Waad Al-Shamal wind IPPs will be developed at world-record-low levelised electricity costs of $c1.565 a kilowatt-hour (kWh), or roughly 5.87094 halalas/kWh, and $c1.70187/kWh or 6.38201 halalas/kWh.

  PIF projects

  In June, three Saudi utility developers and investors signed power-purchase agreements (PPAs) with SPPC to develop and operate three solar PV projects with a combined capacity of 5,500MW.

  The Haden and Muwayh solar PVs, located in Mecca, will each have a capacity of 2,000MW, while the Al-Khushaybi solar PV power plant in Qassim will be able to generate 1,500MW of electricity.

  The team that will develop the three projects consists of Acwa Power, PIF-backed Water & Electricity Holding Company (Badeel) and Saudi Aramco Power Company (Sapco), a subsidiary of the state majority-owned oil giant.

  The project companies formed for each solar IPP have since signed financing documents for the projects, which will require a total investment of SR12.3bn ($3.3bn). The financing sought was $2.6bn.

  These projects comprise round four of PIF’s Price Discovery Scheme, with Acwa Power as the preferred developer partner.

  Energy storage systems

  The scale of new conventional and renewable energy capacity being developed in the kingdom – some 3,500MW of solar PV and wind capacity is now online, with over 10,500MW under construction – has increased the urgency to build energy storage systems to balance the kingdom’s energy system and stabilise its grid.

  SPPC has signalled plans to procure gigawatt-sized battery energy storage systems (bess) using an IPP model. The tendering process for the first bess IPP package is expected to begin by the year-end or early 2025.

  In parallel, National Grid Saudi Arabia, an SEC subsidiary, has started awarding contracts to build energy storage systems capacity using an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model. The local Algihaz Holding is understood to have won the contracts to build four energy storage systems in Najran, Madaya and Khamis Mushait, which will have a total combined capacity of 7.8 gigawatt-hours (GWh).

  Also in August, SEC tendered contracts for the construction of five battery energy storage systems with a total combined capacity of 2,500MW, or roughly 10GWh.

  The planned facilities, each with a capacity of 500MW or roughly 2GWh, are located in or within the proximity of the following key cities and load centres:

  • Riyadh
  • Qaisumah
  • Dawadmi
  • Al-Jouf
  • Rabigh

  Saudi Arabia’s plan to build its first large-scale nuclear power plant in Duwaiheen, which appeared to be making progress before October last year, has faced delays following shifting geopolitics involving stakeholders that include the US and Israel. The tender bid deadline for nuclear technology providers is understood to have been postponed and no new date has been set.

  As it is, Saudi Arabia’s ever-expanding power projects pipeline, particularly for renewables and bess, will require investors, contractors and lenders to allocate sizeable resources, perhaps more than they have historically done in the past, over the next several years as various stakeholders endeavour to meet Vision 2030-tied peak demand scenarios.

  This applies less to CCGT projects, which, pending a clear carbon-capture strategy from the offtaker or the Energy Ministry, appear to attract a decreasing number of developers and investors.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/12496716/main.jpg

  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  UAE and India sign nuclear pact

  11 September 2024

  Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) and Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the operation and development of civil nuclear energy programmes.

  According to Enec, the MoU establishes a framework for “potential cooperation in various areas, including the supply chain development, sharing of operational expertise, human resource development, the provision of nuclear consulting services, future investment opportunities and research and development”.

  This agreement is the first MOU between the UAE and India in the nuclear sector. It marks an important step in strengthening the strategic partnership between both nations to accelerate the decarbonisation of the energy sector.

  “This MoU is a major step forward in our goal to triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050, while drawing on the valuable expertise of our partners in India,” said Mohamed Al-Hammadi, Enec managing director and chief executive.

  The UAE’s nuclear regulator recently announced that the fourth reactor of the Barakah nuclear power plant has reached commercial operations.

  The completion of the 5,600MW, $43bn project coincides with the UAE’s plan to invest in and codevelop nuclear power plants globally.

  As part of its MoU announcement with India, Enec said it has now signed over 100 MoUs with 16 nations. Its objectives include knowledge sharing and collaboration with other nations utilising nuclear energy for power generation as well as those nations looking to commence their programmes in the future.  

  Related read: Barakah 1 full operations give way to phase two

  Photo: Enec

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/12499105/main1635.jpg

  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Saudi Arabia and Nvidia plan a 5,000-GPU platform

  11 September 2024

  The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and US-headquartered AI microprocessor giant Nvidia plan to establish the largest high-performance data centre infrastructure in the Middle East and North Africa region.

  The project will expand SDAIA’s existing supercomputing infrastructure in Riyadh.

  According to an official statement, the expansion “is planned to integrate Nvidia’s most advanced technologies, including the upcoming Nvidia Blackwell architecture, and is expected to eventually grow to over 5,000 graphics processing units (GPUs), setting a new benchmark for digital innovation and infrastructure in Saudi Arabia”.

  The kingdom is already home to eight of the world’s top 500 most powerful supercomputers globally, most of which are installed at Saudi Aramco. SDAIA’s planned new infrastructure could only increase that number.

  Related read: Saudi Arabia asserts AI ambitions

  Nvidia and SDAIA also announced at the ongoing Global AI (Gain) summit in Riyadh an agreement to work together to make Allam, a Saudi homegrown Arabic language technology, more accessible to developers.

  The firms announced in a statement the integration of “the latest Nvidia technological advancements to enable developers to more easily build and deploy AI applications with the Allam Arabic large-language model (LLM)”.

  The collaboration will enable access to Nvidia NeMo, part of the US technology firm’s AI enterprise software platform for large-scale language model training.

  It also enables access to Nvidia’s NeMo Guardrails for AI safety, which will provide “developers with a faster, more accessible path to building generative AI applications”.

  Related reads:

  • Saudi Arabia and UAE acquire Nvidia chips
  • Abu Dhabi and Riyadh rivalry extends to AI
  • Region plays high-stakes AI game

  Photo: Pixabay, for illustrative purposes only

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/12498523/main.jpg

  Jennifer Aguinaldo