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Principal buyer Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) has opened the qualification process for the third round of conventional independent power projects (IPPs) using combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) technology.

The round is being tendered under the supervision of the Ministry of Energy. Each plant will be built with provision for carbon capture unit readiness, allowing the technology to be deployed at a later stage.

Each project will be developed on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis, with the winning consortium taking 100% equity in a special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up to develop and operate the plant.

Each SPV will sign a power purchase agreement with SPPC, which is licensed by the Saudi Electricity Regulatory Authority (SERA) to prepare preliminary studies, tender and award IPPs, and purchase electricity from energy projects in the kingdom.

The programme forms part of Saudi Arabia’s Circular Carbon Economy approach, which underpins the energy sector element of the Vision 2030 strategy. Riyadh is displacing liquid fuels with natural gas in power generation to cut emissions intensity, while designing new plants so that carbon capture equipment can be retrofitted in support of national emissions targets.

In April, Acwa and Saudi Energy (formerly Saudi Electricity Company) signed a 31-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with SPPC for the Rabigh 2 IPP expansion.

The project involves the development of a CCGT plant in the Mecca region. It will have a total capacity of 2,313.5MW.

The contract is valued at SR11.5bn ($3.07bn), the companies said in separate stock exchange filings.