Saudi Arabia’s Renewable Energy Project Development Office (Repdo) has shortlisted two bidders for the first major project under the kingdom’s National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP), removing the lowest bidder from the running.

Repdo has shortlisted the consortiums led by the local Acwa Power and Japan’s Marubeni for final negotiations on the planned 300MW Sakaka photovoltaic (PV) solar plant. The client has removed the lowest bidding consortium, led by the UAE’s Masdar from the running. The Masdar consortium had submitted the much publicised bid of 1.7859$cents a kilowatt hour ($c/KWh), which had smashed previous tariffs for unsubsidised PV solar energy and was 24 per cent lower than the second lowest bid.

The local Acwa Power submitted the second lowest bid of 2.3417$c/KWh, which was also lower than the previous world record tariff at date of submission. Japan’s Marubeni submitted the third lowest bid of 2.6603$c/KWh. The client received proposals from eight bidders on 2 October for main contract on the 300MW solar scheme.

Repdo, the body established by the Ministry of Energy, Industry & Mineral Resources to oversee the NREP, received proposals from eight bidders on 2 October for the contract to develop the 300MW Sakaka photovoltaic (PV) solar plant. The client is planning to award the main contract to one of the shortlisted consortiums by the end of January, with a target for financial close to be reached by the end of February. 

A special purpose vehicle, project company, will be formed to develop the project and will be 100 per cent owned by the successful bidder.

Under the 700MW first round of the NREP, a 300MW PV solar project will be developed at a site in Sakaka in the Al-Jouf province and a 400MW wind project will be developed at a site in 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.

Repdo will report to a new renewable energy steering committee, chaired by the Minister of Energy, Industry & Mineral Resources Khalid al-Falih. The committee will include the heads of various government stakeholders in the kingdom including: King Abdullah City for Atomic & Renewable Energy (KA-Care), the Electricity & Cogeneration Regulatory Authority (ECRA) and state utility Saudi Electricity Company.