Saudi Arabia signs 2 PPAs for Al Ghat, Wa'ad Al Shamal wind projects

Signing ceremony

Saudi Power Procurement Co. (principal buyer) and a consortium led by the Japanese Marubeni Co. signed two power purchase agreements (PPAs) for the 600-megawatts (MW) Al Ghat and 500-MW Wa'ad Al Shamal wind farm projects.

The deals were concluded during the Saudi-Japan Vision 2030 Business Forum in Japan.

Al Ghat project achieved a new world record low cost of electricity production from wind power at 1.56558 cents/kWh levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), Saudi Press Agency reported, citing Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.

Wa’ad Alshamal project has also achieved a second world record low for wind power at 1.70187 cents/kWh LCOE, he added.

The minister added that the energy produced annually from both projects will be sufficient to power 257,000 residential units, which indicates the significance of these projects in enhancing the efficiency of energy consumption in the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, he pointed out that these two projects fall within the goals of the National Renewable Energy Program, which aims to benefit from renewable energy sources available in various parts of the Kingdom. The program aims to contribute to the displacement of liquid fuels used in the power sector and achieve an energy mix with a share of renewables of about 50% by 2030.