Saudi Arabia creates unit to focus on renewable energy

The Renewable Energy Project Develop Office (Repdo) will comprise members from Saudi Aramco, Saudi Electricity Company, Electricity and Cogeneration Regulatory Authority and King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy.

Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry has created a new division to drive the kingdom’s renewable energy plan, which will begin reviewing interested companies for projects this month.

The Renewable Energy Project Develop Office (Repdo), falling under the energy ministry, will be led by a committee that includes the major energy players in the country from Saudi Aramco, Saudi Electricity Company, Electricity and Cogeneration Regulatory Authority and King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy.

“This dedicated team will assume overall responsibility for the execution and delivery of the programme, starting with the launch of the request for qualifications process on February 20,” said Khalid Al Falih, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister.

The first movement for the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) will start accepting applications later this month from companies looking to participate in developing 700 megawatts of solar and wind projects. The next milestone will be the request for proposals issued in mid-April and the first projects will be awarded in September.

The NREP is the official plan for the 9.5 gigawatts of renewable energy deployment that the government announced for Vision 2030, with the interim target of 3.45GW of renewable energy power capacity by 2020 under the National Transformation Programme.

The first phase will involve projects developed in the northwest of the country – 300MW of solar in Sakaka at the An Nafud desert, while Midyan will have 400MW of wind. Midyan is also the site of Saudi Aramco’s Midyan gas plant, which will produce 570MW of power once complete, including 50MW of solar from a nearby plant.

Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation will be the financial adviser throughout the tender process with London-based DLA Piper as legal adviser. Fichtner Group of Germany will be the technical adviser, the same role it plays for Abu Dhabi’s Sweihan solar project.

“We have vast renewable energy resources and by exploiting them, we work towards our sustainable development goals and reinforce our position as the world’s most reliable supplier of energy, allowing us to accelerate economic transformation,” said Mr Al Falih.