Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) in Saudi Arabia

The EDF Renewables-Masdar consortium awarded a 400 MW wind power project in Saudi Arabia

The consortium consisting of EDF Renewables and Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC), both global leaders in renewable energy, is announcing that it has won the tender for the Dumat Al Jandal wind farm.

With an installed capacity of 400-megawatt (MW), it will be Saudi Arabia’s first wind farm and the most powerful in the Middle East.

The future wind farm will benefit from a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Saudi Power Procurement Company, a subsidiary of SEC (Saudi Electricity Company), the Saudi power generation and distribution company.

The Dumat Al Jandal project was awarded to the consortium by the Renewable Energy Project Development Office (REPDO) at the Saudi Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources (MEIM) following a call for tenders launched in August 2017.

During a readout in Riyadh in July 2018 it was announced that the consortium submitted the most cost-competitive bid ($21.3 per MWh).

The 400MW wind farm is located 560 miles from north of Riyadh, in the Al Jouf region of north-western Saudi Arabia.

Both EDF Renewables and Masdar teams are already mobilized and construction works, especially with local businesses, will start in few months.

The project is 51%-owned by EDF Renewables and 49%-owned by Masdar.

“We are delighted to be awarded this first wind project in the country, which is set to be the most powerful wind farm in the Middle East. This success reflects the quality of our partnership with Masdar which has enabled us to jointly submit the most competitive bid. Wind power is now representing a renewable and economical solution in the energy mix.

This new project demonstrates our ambitions in the country and represents another step forward under the EDF Group’s Cap 2030 strategy, which aims to double its renewable energy capacity by 2030 – both in France and worldwide – to 50 GW”, commented Bruno Bensasson, EDF Group Senior Executive President responsible for Renewable Energies, and Chairman and CEO of EDF Renewables.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has set a clear energy strategy to substantially increase the share of renewables in its total energy mix to 10% by 2023,” said Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar. “The selection of Masdar and EDF to develop the Kingdom’s first utility-scale wind power plant is a significant achievement. We are proud to leverage our strong track record in renewables to support the Kingdom’s strategy to in-crease the share of clean energy in its energy mix. Masdar and EDF stand ready to devote our expertise to realising this world-class project.”

EDF Renewables is a leading international player in renewable energies, with gross installed capacity of 14.2 GW worldwide. Its development is mainly focused on wind and solar photovoltaic power. EDF Renewables operates mostly in Europe and North America but is continuing to grow by moving into promising emerging regions such as Brazil, China, India, South Africa and the Gulf. The company has strong positions in offshore wind power, but also in other areas of the renewable energies industry such as energy storage. EDF Renewables develops, builds, operates and maintains renewable energies projects, both for itself and for third parties. Most of its international subsidiaries bear the EDF Renewables brand. EDF Renewables is the EDF Group subsidiary specialising in developing solar and wind power.