A consortium of ACWA Power, Public Investment Fund (PIF) subsidiary Water and Electricity Holding Company (Badeel) and Aramco subsidiary Saudi Aramco Power Company (SAPCO) has achieved financial close on seven large-scale renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of 15 gigawatts (GW), according to a press statement issued by ACWA Power.
The portfolio, comprising five solar photovoltaic (PV) independent power plants and two wind projects, is part of the Kingdom’s National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP) and represents the largest agreement awarded under the scheme. The projects are expected to begin operations between the second half of 2027 and the first half of 2028.
The solar IPP projects include the 3 GW Bisha plant in Asir, 3 GW Humaij in Madinah, 2 GW Khulis in Makkah, and two 2 GW plants – Afif1 and Afif2 – in Riyadh province. The wind projects comprise the 2 GW Starah and 1 GW Shaqra plants, both in Riyadh Province.
Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) is the offtaker for the entire portfolio.
In October, ACWA Power had announced that the consortium signed financing agreements for the aforementioned five solar PV projects with a total capacity of 12 GW.
ACWA Power said total investment for the seven projects amounts to $8.2 billion (31 billion Saudi riyals). Senior debt financing of $5.9 billion was secured from a syndicate of local, regional and international lenders including Ajman Bank, Al Masraf, Alinma Bank, Arab National Bank, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, ICBC, KfW IPEX-Bank, Mizuho Bank, Natixis, Société Générale, Standard Chartered and others.
PIF, through Badeel, is mandated to develop 70 percent of Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy capacity target by 2030. The fund and its partners now have a cumulative sponsored pipeline of 28.6 GW involving more than $17 billion in investment across multiple projects including Haden, Muwayh, Al Khushaybi, Sudair, Shuaibah 2, Ar Rass 2, Al Kahfah and Saad 2.
With the addition of the new plants, which includes its first wind projects in Saudi Arabia, ACWA Power’s renewable portfolio in the Kingdom rises to 21 projects totaling more than 34 GW, bringing its global renewable capacity to 51.9 GW.
