Once commissioned, the green electricity generated from the project will be supplied to the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC)
Image: EDF-Masdar to start building Saudi wind farm. Photo: Courtesy of MASDAR.
A consortium consisting of EDF Renewables and Masdar has secured financing for the 415MW Dumat Al Jandal wind project to be located in Saudi Arabia.
The consortium secured financing with support from Saudi-based and international banks.
The Renewable Energy Project Development Office (REPDO) of the Saudi Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources (MEIM) had selected the EDF-Masdar consortium this January, to build the $500m (£401m) project. It followed the call for tenders in August 2017. The consortium claims to have submitted a bid of $21.3 (£17.1) per MWh, the lowest bid in the tender.
Recently, Vestas has been selected to supply turbines for the project. EDF and Masdar placed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for supply and installation of 99 of V150-4.2 MW wind turbines.
The contract also includes a 20-year Active Output Management 4000 (AOM 4000) service agreement for the wind park’s operation and maintenance.
Dumat Al Jandal wind project’s construction could begin shortly
To be located 896km north of Riyadh, in the Al Jouf region, the wind project’s construction is expected to begin shortly and is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2022.
EDF Group renewable energies senior executive president and EDF Renewables chairman and CEO Bruno Bensasson said: “We are delighted to take part in the first wind project in the country, which is set to be the most powerful wind farm in the Middle East. This new step 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 50GW.”
Once commissioned, the green electricity generated from the project will be supplied under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC).
The wind project is the first phase of Saudi Arabia’s plan to install 7GW of wind capacity within the next years and 16GW by 2030.
Saudi Power Procurement Company CEO Osama Khawandanah said: “We are proud to see the Dumat Al Jandal wind project progress to the construction stage, and we congratulate the winning consortium members for spearheading the future of wind energy in the region.
“The Dumat A Jandal project has set the benchmark and shows the potential for onshore wind energy in the Kingdom, and is a new reference point and source of confidence as we continue to diversify our power generation system.”