The consortium includes Khaled Ahmed Juffali Energy & Utilities and Axia Power.
The solar plant, which will be located in Sakaka, Al Jouf, forms part of Round 1 of the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP).
REPDO stated that the project will be awarded to the preferred bidder in January 2018 and it will be backed up by a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC).
Furthermore, financial closing for the solar plant is expected to be completed by February 2018.
“All eight bids that were submitted have been subjected to a detailed evaluation of material compliance to RFP requirements, including the 30% local content component for Round 1 NREP projects.
“All companies that have submitted bids for R1 Sakaka PV RFP are invited to participate in future projects of the NREP,” REPDO said in a statement.
Last year, REPDO stated that EDF Energies Nouvelles (EDF EN) and Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy company Masdar made the lowest bidding of SAR 0.06697 ($0.0178) per kWh, while ACWA Power came in second with a SAR 0.0878/kWh offer.
PV Magazine reported that the ACWA and Marubeni’s bidding cannot be taken as the world’s cheapest solar bid, if accepted. It rests with a consortium of Trina Solar and Mitsui for a solar project in Mexico, awarded last December. The winning bid was $19.7/MWh.
Image: Saudi Arabia selects ACWA Power and Marubeni to build 300MW solar project. Photo: Courtesy of dan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
