Masdar, a clean energy company from the UAE, has secured a major contract with Chinese and South Korean partners to develop a 2GW solar project in Saudi Arabia. The project, located at Al Sadawi about 500km north of Riyadh, is set to supply electricity for 25 years starting in 2027.
This initiative is part of Saudi Arabia’s national renewable energy program and was included in the fifth round of a 3.7GW auction by the Saudi Power Procurement Company. Masdar, along with GD Power of China and Korea Electric Power Corporation, will lead the construction of the plant, offering a competitive price of $1.29 per kilowatt/hour for the project.
Saudi Arabia aims to generate 50% of its electricity from clean sources by the end of the decade, necessitating over 20GW of additional capacity annually. The kingdom has set a target of 130GW of renewable capacity by 2030, but currently, it only has 8.33GW.
Recently, the Saudi Power Procurement Company awarded over 19GW of renewable energy projects. Additionally, Acwa Power has completed its 600MW Al-Shuaibah 1 solar project. Masdar itself aims to achieve 100GW of renewable energy capacity worldwide by 2030, with a current portfolio of 22GW across 83 projects.
Masdar’s other recent ventures include securing funding for solar projects in Azerbaijan, signing an agreement for a wind farm in Kazakhstan, and purchasing $1.4 billion in green assets in Spain and Portugal. Since 2022, Masdar has also co-owned Saudi Arabia’s first wind farm with EDF Renewables, a 400MW facility in the Al Jouf region.
