The consortium led by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company "Masdar" and "EDF Renewables" and "Nesma" announced the completion of the financial closure of the project of a 300-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and the commencement of construction work on the project.

The Renewable Energy Projects Development Office of the Ministry of Energy in the Kingdom granted the consortium a bid to develop the solar power plant project, after it submitted a competitive price of 60.9042 riyals ($ 16.24 per megawatt hour).

The consortium had also signed a 25-year power purchase agreement for the project with the Saudi Power Purchase Company last January, according to the Emirates News Agency.

Under the terms of the 25-year power purchase agreement, the consortium will design, finance, build and operate the plant in Jeddah 3rd Industrial City, 50 kilometers southeast of Jeddah.

Muhammad Jamil Al-Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, confirmed that this project embodies Masdar's continuous support for the goals of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 2030 as well as its goals in the climate field, indicating that the Kingdom, through the National Renewable Energy Program, was able to move at a rapid pace that strengthened its position in Global renewable energy sector Masdar and its partners will continue to work with the Saudi government to drive the transition towards clean energy and reduce carbon emissions in line with the Saudi Green Initiative.

For his part, Bruno Bensason, Senior Executive Vice President of EDF Group and CEO of EDF Renewables, thanked the Saudi authorities for granting the consortium a tender to develop a 300-megawatt solar power plant in Jeddah, and affirmed that the development of the new solar power plant is in cooperation with all From "Masdar" and "Nesma", it comes within the framework of reinforcing the commitment to contribute to achieving transformation within the energy sector in the Middle East.

Bensason said: In addition to the Dumat Al-Jandal wind power plant with a capacity of 400 megawatts currently being constructed in the north of the Kingdom, this solar energy project embodies our firm commitment to contribute to achieving the Kingdom's goal of producing 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

He pointed out that the project reflects the ability of the consortium companies to bid very competitively, as these huge projects at the level of service facilities come within the framework of the EDF 2030 strategy, which aims to double the capacity of its projects in operation in the field of renewable energy between 2015 and 2030, from 28 to 50 gigawatts.

Faysal Al-Turki, President of Nesma Company, affirmed that Masdar, EDF Renewables and Nesma will continue to develop innovative and integrated solar energy projects, pointing out that the Jeddah project is a role model for how the consortium uses international expertise. And regional and local optimally.

The Jeddah Solar Power Plant will use the latest technologies in the field of photovoltaic energy, combining two-sided photovoltaic units with mounting structures that use uniaxial tracking technology to double the generated energy by tracking the sun’s position throughout the day .. The latest robots will also be used to clean the units.