According to Paddy Padmanathan, CEO of ACWA Power, the company is looking to participate in around $30 billion worth of renewable projects alongside partners Saudi Aramco and the Public Investment Fund (PIF). The trio has already partnered in their first project under the framework of a government plan to develop 70% of the Saudi target of 58.7 GW by 2030.
“That big portfolio will be done as project by project, with the first of those projects being the Sudair project. We will subsequently do exactly within the framework of that agreement the next project, the next project and the next project exactly the same way,” Padmanathan explained.
The Kingdom wants to push ahead with more solar and wind projects to reduce crude burn in power generation and free up oil for export. It plans to create 70% of the targeted renewable energy through collaboration between the PIF, Aramco, and ACWA Power, and the other 30% through competitive tenders organised by the Ministry of Energy.
ACWA Power now has a total power portfolio of 43 GW, of which 13 GW is renewable energy
ACWA Power is bidding in the third competitive bid round, which includes four solar projects totaling 1.2 GW of capacity. ACWA Power now has a total power portfolio of 43 GW, of which 13 GW is renewable energy, and has a 50:50 split between Saudi Arabia and overseas projects.
Thanks to Saudi Arabia’s ambitious programme, ACWA Power expects renewable projects to account for at least 85% of its total portfolio by 2030.
ACWA Power expects renewable projects to account for at least 85% of its total portfolio by 2030
The company is also a participant in the country’s $6.5 billion green hydrogen and ammonia project, which is being developed in collaboration with Neom, a future, zero-carbon metropolis, and Air Products of the United States. The project, which will produce 240,000 metric tonnes of green hydrogen per year to produce 1.2 million metric tonnes of ammonia per year, is set to begin in the first quarter of 2026.
ACWA Power is looking for similar-sized green hydrogen and ammonia projects in the MENA region and expects to finalize one by the end of 2021.