ACWA Power locks in funds for 5.5 GW of solar in Saudi Arabia

ACWA Power Co has secured SAR 9.7 billion (USD 2.6bn/EUR 2.33bn) in financing from a consortium of local and international banks for the construction of three large-scale solar power plants in Saudi Arabia with a combined capacity of 5.5 GW.

The funds will be used for the development, construction and operation of the 2- GW Haden, 2-GW Muwayh, and 1.5 GW Al Khushaybi solar projects, located in Makkah and Qassim Province, the Saudi electricity producer and water desalination company said in a stock exchange filing.

The financing agreements were signed by Buraiq Renewable Energy Company, Moya Renewable Energy Company, and Nabah Renewable Energy Company as the project companies. Each of them will be owned by ACWA Power with a 35.1% stake, Badeel with 34.9%, and Saudi Aramco Power Company.

The consortium of banks granting the funds includes Banque Saudi Fransi, Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, Mizuho Bank, Riyad Bank, Saudi National Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank.

The finalisation of the financing comes a few months after ACWA Power signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) for the three projects. The levelised cost of energy (LCOE) for the Haden plant is USD 0.0158 per kWh while for Muwayh and Al Khushaybi, it stands at USD 0.0160 per kWh and USD 0.0167 per kWh, respectively.