Saudi Arabia to have Middle East’s largest solar facility

Saudi’s Water and Electricity Holding Company (Badeel) and energy company ACWA Power have signed power purchase agreements to develop the largest solar energy plant in the Middle East, Reuters reports.

The 2,060 megawatt solar facility will be built in Al-Shuaibah, in the Makkah province, and is expected to become operational by the fourth quarter of 2025.

Badeel, a subsidiary of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), and ACWA Power will each hold a 50 per cent equity stake in the project.

Under its Vision2030 plan, Saudi Arabia seeks to reach 27.3 gigawatts of renewable power capacity by 2023.

“This marks a key achievement toward PIF’s commitment to develop 70% of Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy by 2030. Utilities and Renewables is one of PIF’s priority sectors as part of its domestic strategy, which focuses on unlocking the capabilities of promising sectors to enhance Saudi Arabia’s efforts in diversifying revenue sources,” said Yazeed A. Al-Humied, deputy governor and head of MENA Investments at PIF.

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