RFQ Open to Local, Regional and International Developers and Consortiums

Wind Project is part of round one of the National Renewable Energy Program

NREP Remains on Target to Tender 700 MW this Year

Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, July 16, 2017  

The Renewable Energy Project Development Office (REPDO) of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, has today issued the request for qualification (RFQ) for 400 MW of wind power in Dumat Al Jandal, in the Al Jouf region of Saudi Arabia. Dumat Al Jandal’s project will become the Kingdom’s first utility-scale wind project, part of round one of the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP).

The announcement builds on the Kingdom’s initial tender for 300 MW of solar PV in Sakaka, issued on April 17, 2017. The RFQ window for Dumat Al Jandal project’s closes on August 10, 2017 when qualified companies will proceed to the request for proposals (RFP) stage as either “managing members,” “technical members” or both, based on their experience in delivering Independent Power Producer (IPP) projects of this scale.

His Excellency, Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, said, “The National Renewable Energy Program is a long and systematic path to energy and economic diversification for Saudi Arabia, and a cornerstone of the Ministry’s contribution to Vision 2030.

“As we enter the second half of 2017, we remain committed to ensuring our ambitious program remains on-track to deliver the value and opportunities targeted by the program,” H.E. Al-Falih continued. “The release of Dumat Al Jandal’s wind project RFQ, and upcoming RFP next month, ensures that we remain on course to tender 700 MW in round one this year. It establishes a foundation that supports our success towards our 2020 and 2023 interim targets.”

Qualified bidders for the Dumat Al Jandal project will enter the RFP process, due to launch on August 29, 2017 and close in January 2018. A company whose application is unsuccessful as either a Manager or Technical role in this round will retain eligibility to participate in future RFQs and RFPs under the NREP.

With both NREP round one projects set for deployment in the Al Jouf Province, Northern Saudi Arabia, the area is set for a significant direct and indirect economic boost from renewable energy investment and development over the next few years. More than 50 representatives of shortlisted companies visited the Sakaka solar PV project site in May, during an exclusive bidders conference ahead of the submission deadline in September. The announcement of the winning bid will follow in November 2017. 

The Dumat Al Jandal Wind Power project and Sakaka Solar PV project will be backed by 20 and 25-year power purchase agreements respectively, and bidders for both projects are required to meet local content targets designed to support development of a domestic renewable energy value chain.

The NREP targets 9.5 GW of renewable energy by 2023 in support of Vision 2030, with an interim target of 3.45 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2020 under the National Transformation Program (NTP).

Prospective bidders can access RFQ documents through the program’s dedicated procurement portal at www.powersaudiarabia.com.sa.

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© Press Release 2017