A consortium of Masdar, EDF Renewables and Nesma Renewable Energy has been selected to build the 1,100 MW Al Henakiyah solar plant in Saudi Arabia as it submitted the lowest bid of USD 16.84 per megawatt hour.

The 3 companies have signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC), they said in a joint statement on 7th November.

The consortium led by Masdar will develop, build and operate the solar park under the deal with SPPC. The solar park, to be located in Al Madinah province, is projected to provide energy for over 190,000 homes annually once connected to the grid, which is planned for year 2025.

The realisation of the project is estimated to cost about USD 1 billion, with the financial close expected in early 2024.

Al Henakiyah is one of two large-scale solar projects for which SPPC shortlisted 2 consortia at the beginning of September. The 2nd initiative is the Tabarjal solar project in northern Saudi Arabia which is planned with a capacity of 400 MW. Here, a consortium led by Jinko Power (HK) Company emerged as the top bidder.

Both projects are meant to support the kingdom's efforts to increase share of renewables in its power mix to around 50 percent by year 2030.