ACWA Power, PIF company Badeel and Aramco subsidiary SAPCO reach financial close for Haden, Muwayh and Al Khushaybi solar PV projects
· New plants aim to generate a combined capacity of 5.5 GW of solar power
· Total investments amount to approximately $3.2 billion, with commercial operations planned to commence in Q1 of 2027
· Projects are an important part of the Kingdom’s National Renewable Energy Program
· Saudi Power Procurement Company is the procurer and off-taker for the projects
RIYADH – 29 September 2024: ACWA Power, a leader in the energy transition, the Water and Electricity Holding Company (Badeel), a PIF owned company, and Saudi Aramco Power Company (SAPCO), a wholly owned subsidiary of Aramco, have announced the successful financial close of the Haden, Muwayh and Al Khushaybi solar photovoltaic (PV) projects. The projects have a total investment value of $3.2 billion and aim to generate a combined capacity of 5.5 GW of solar energy for Saudi Arabia. These initiatives form a crucial part of Saudi Arabia’s National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP), which is led and supervised by the Ministry of Energy and is reflected in PIF’s commitment to develop 70% of Saudi Arabia’s Renewable Energy Target Capacity by 2030.
With individual capacities of 2 GW, 2 GW and 1.5 GW of renewable power respectively, the Haden and Muwayh plants in the Makkah region, and Al Khushaybi plant in the Qassim region. The plants will be jointly owned by Badeel, ACWA Power and SAPCO. Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) is the procurer and the off-taker for the projects.
The $2.5 billion senior debt financing for the Haden, Muwayh and Al Khushaybi plants was funded by a consortium of local, regional and international banks, including Banque Saudi Fransi, Mizuho Bank, Riyad Bank, Saudi National Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank and HSBC.
The financial closure of these projects follows significant PIF investment in the renewable energy value chain. In July, PIF announced three new joint ventures which will enhance local production of wind turbine and solar PV components, benefitting from the global energy transition and supporting PIF’s efforts to position Saudi Arabia as a global manufacturing center for the renewables sector.
PIF and its partners are currently developing several projects with a total capacity of 13.6 GW, involving over $9 billion in investments. These joint projects, which also include 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.
With the addition of these three projects, ACWA Power's solar portfolio in Saudi Arabia now stands at 14 projects, representing more than 17.8 GW of combined PV capacity. It also brings ACWA Power's total renewable capacity portfolio to 35 GW.