ACWA Power, Saudi Arabia’s leading developer, investor, and operator of power generation, recently announced the commencement of commercial operations at the 700 MW Ar Rass 1 Solar Photovoltaic Project.
“Upon obtaining the commercial operation certificate from the Offtaker for the full 700 MW plant, the project is now online and has started power generation,” the company said in a statement to the Saudi Exchange on Sunday.
In the statement, the company said that received the commercial operation certificate on August 15. It now expects the project’s financial impact to begin during the second half of 2024 onwards.
The company’s net profit reached SAR927 million, up 36 percent annually during the first half of 2024. Meanwhile, its operating income before impairment losses and other expenses reached SAR1.389 billion, an increase of SAR100 million.
Project to power around 132,000 homes
Notably, ACWA Power owns a 40.1 percent share in AlRass Renewable Energy Company.
In March 2022, ACWA Power and the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) signed a power purchase agreement to develop the Ar Rass solar power plant in Saudi Arabia’s Al Qassim province. Under the agreement, ACWA Power will sell energy from the project to SPPC for a period of 25 years.
With a value of $450 million, the Ar Rass plant involves multiple stakeholders including ACWA Power, the Water and Electricity Holding Company (20 percent stake), and the State Power Investment Corporation from China (39.9 percent stake). Upon completion, the project will produce energy to power around 132,000 homes in central Saudi Arabia.
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Diversifying Saudi Arabia’s energy mix
During the first half of 2024, ACWA Power continued to add new projects to its portfolio, including the addition of a record 10.5 GW of renewable power generation capacity. ACWA Power’s operation of the Ar Rass solar power plant falls under Saudi Arabia’s goal of generating 50 percent of its energy mix from renewable energy sources by 2030.
In a recent statement, Saudi Minister of Energy Prince AbdulAziz bin Salman bin AbdulAziz Al Saud said that the Kingdom will tender new renewable energy projects with a capacity of 20 gigawatts annually. In addition, it aims to reach a capacity between 100 and 130 gigawatts by 2030.
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