Saudi power plant deadline extended

01 July 2015

Power plant will have combined-cycle and solar energy components

  • 1,050MW power plant will be an integrated solar and combined-cycle plant
  • Contractors submitted technical bids in October
  • Plant will support $7bn Waad al-Shamal industrial development

Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has extended the bid deadline for commercial proposals to build the 1,050MW integrated solar and combined-cycle (ISCC) power plant at the Waad al-Shamal industrial development in the north of Saudi Arabia.

Contractors now have until mid-July to submit commercial bids for the plant. The previous submission date was 30 June. This is the third time the bid deadline has been extended. According to sources close to the project, the extension has been granted to allow bidders more time to work on submissions.

SEC received technical bids in mid-October for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build the ISCC plant at Saudi Arabian Mining Company’s (Maaden’s) $6bn Waad al-Shamal phosphate mining development.

The delay in setting a commercial bid deadline was reportedly due to the client waiting for gas allocations to be confirmed for providing feedstock for the plant.

MEED reported in August last year that the client had decided to integrate a 50MW solar component into the plans for the plant, which had previously just been planned as a 1,000MW combined-cycle generation facility. The plant will use concentrated solar power (CSP) technology, with the client allowing the bidder to select whether to use parabolic trough, power tower or linear fresnel technology.

The ISCC plant will supply power to the industrial development, which has an estimated total value of $7bn. SEC is one of several major companies planning to provide infrastructure to support the Waad al-Shamal development.

In April 2014, Canada’s WSP Group was appointed by SEC to conduct environmental and social impact studies on building a power plant at the mining development.

In late June, Spain’s Abener submitted a low bid of SR2.05bn ($547m) for the main EPC contract for the Duba ISCC power plant, which will also include a 40-50MW solar element.

The power project is part of the kingdom’s efforts to boost generating capacity in the coming years to cope with the expected rise in electricity demand. In its 2012 annual report, SEC forecast that peak demand will grow from the 51,900MW recorded in 2012 to 85,000MW in 2020 and 120,000MW by 2030.

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