Saudi Arabia invites bids for 400 MW wind project

Saudi Arabia has invited developers to submit prequalification proposals for a 400 megawatt (MW) wind project in Dumat al-Jandal in Al Jouf region, the Ministry of Energy said in a statement.

The project, which will be Saudi Arabia’s first utility-scale wind plant, is part of the 700 MW tendered under round one of the Kingdom’s National Renewable Energy Program (NREP).

The first project was a 300 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Sakaka, for which a tender was issued on April 17.

The request for qualification (RFQ) window for the wind project closes on Aug. 10, after which qualified companies will proceed to the request for proposals (RFP) stage as either “managing members,” “technical members” or both, based on their experience in delivering Independent Power Producer (IPP) projects of this scale.

The RFP process will launch on Aug. 29 and close in January next year, the statement said.

“The release of Dumat al-Jandal’s wind project RFQ, and upcoming RFP next month, ensures that we remain on course to tender 700 MW in round one this year,” said Saudi energy minister Khalid Al-Falih.

Saudi Arabia’s NREP targets 9.5 GW of renewable energy by 2023 in support of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, with an interim target of 3.45 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2020.

The Dumat al-Jandal wind project and Sakaka solar project will be backed by 20 and 25-year power purchase agreements respectively, and bidders for both projects are required to meet local content targets as part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to develop a local renewable energy value chain.