Saudi Arabia has commenced the qualification process for a group of battery energy storage system (BESS) projects with a combined capacity of 2,000 MW and 8,000 MWh, marking a significant step in the country's strategy to enhance its renewable energy integration.
The first group, announced by the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC), includes four projects to be developed under the build-own-operate (BOO) model. This structure will grant full ownership to the successful developers of each project.
The projects featured in this tender are the 500-MW Al-Muwyah and 500-MW Haden energy storage projects in Makkah province, the 500-MW Al-Khushaybi project in Al-Qassim province, and the 500-MW Al-Kahafa project in Hail province. Each battery will provide a storage duration of four hours.
Developers selected for these projects will enter into a 15-year energy storage service agreement with SPPC, the primary electricity buyer in Saudi Arabia.
The launch of these energy storage initiatives is part of Saudi Arabia's broader objective to increase the share of renewable energy sources in its electricity mix to around 50% by 2030. Additionally, these projects aim to enhance the flexibility and reliability of the power system.
Earlier in the year, SPPC initiated a 4.5-GW renewables tender, narrowing down several bidders for subsequent rounds, and ACWA Power achieved financial closure on 5.5 GW of solar projects.
