A consortium led by local developer Acwa Power has reached financial close for the 300MW Sakaka photovoltaic (PV) solar project in Saudi Arabia.

Acwa Power will hold a 70 per cent stake in the project company, Sakaka Solar Energy Company (SSEC), with the local Al-Gihaz Holding Company to own the remaining 30 per cent.

SSEC has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with the state offtaker for the $320m project.

MEED reported in February that the kingdom’s Renewable Energy Project Development Office (Repdo) had awarded the contract to Acwa Power to develop the 300MW PV plant for a world record tariff of $2.34/kilowatt hour (kWh).

The Sakaka plant is the first project to be awarded under the kingdom’s ambitious National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP). Repdo is currently evaluating proposals for the second project under the programme: a 400MW wind farm planned for development at Dumat al-Jandal.

The NREP sets out a target for 3.45GW of renewable energy to be developed by 2020 under the National Transformation Plan (NTP), and for 9.5GW of renewable energy capacity to be established by 2023.