Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the construction of a 400 MW wind farm in the country’s Al Jouf region.
The Ministry’s renewable energy project development office (REPDO) says that 25 companies have qualified for the RFP stage and are eligible to submit bids for the wind farm, to be located at Dumat Al Jandal.
The project will be the first utility-scale wind power project within Saudi Arabia’s National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP). Companies qualified to bid include Acciona, EDF Energies Nouvelles, Enercon, Nordex and Vestas.
Bidding for the wind farm will close in January 2018.
Round one of the NREP also comprises 300 MW of Solar PV in Sakaka, Al Jouf region, for which the bid opening will take place on 3rd October and winning bids will be announced on November 27th.
The Dumat Al Jandal and Sakaka projects are both private IPP programs, and will be backed by 20- and 25-year power purchase agreements respectively.
Commenting on the progress of the NREP, His Excellency, Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, said: “We are moving forward to diversify the Kingdom’s energy mix and to build a more sustainable and cleaner energy system that benefits Saudi Arabia and its citizens.
“Round two of the NREP will be launched before the end of this year, keeping us firmly on track to deliver 9.5GW of renewable energy by 2023.”
