01 May 2021
ACWA Power, a leader in power generation and water desalination plants, has inaugurated the 300MW Sakaka PV IPP, Saudi Arabia’s first utility-scale renewable energy project which has been built at an investment of SR1.2 billion ($320 million).
The ceremony was held under the patronage of HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, and in the presence of Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Minister of Energy, and Prince Faisal bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Al-Jouf Region.
The inauguration of Sakaka PV IPP marks a pivotal moment in the continued energy diversification and development plans of Saudi Arabia. The project was awarded to an Acwa Power-led consortium at a world record tariff, at the time, of 8.781 halalas/kWh in 2018, which has paved the way for subsequent projects of the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) to lower the cost of clean solar electricity in the kingdom.
Al Gihaz Holding, a major Saudi contractor and investor, owns a 30 per cent stake in the Sakaka Solar Energy Company (SSEC), alongside Acwa Power’s 70 per cent stake, and was instrumental in both the investment, engineering, procurement and construction of the project.