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Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) announced on Thursday the launch of the qualification process for the Second group of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects, comprising a total of six projects of 500 MW / 2000MWh capacity each.
Each Independent Storage Provider (ISP) project will be developed under a build-own-operate (BOO) model, with the winning consortium holding 100 percent equity in the special purpose vehicle (SPV), which will develop and operate the project, according to an SPPC press statement.
The SPVs will enter into a separate Storage Services Agreement (SSAs) with SPPC, the statement said.
While the tenure of the SSA wasn't disclosed, SPPC had previously announced a 15-year SSA for the first group of BESS projects.
The six projects represent combined capacity of 3,000 MW for a 4-hour storage duration (12,000 MWh).
The six projects tendered include:
- Samha BESS ISP in Qassim province.
- Al-Leeth BESS ISP in Makkah province.
- Al-Henakiyah BESS ISP in Madinah province.
- Khulis BESS ISP in Makkah province
- Sadawi BESS ISP in Eastern province.
- Ashyrah BESS ISP in Makkah province.
The deadline to submit statements of qualification is 5 May 2026 by 14:00 hours.
SPPC said qualifications are also open for solar PV, wind, and energy storage projects to be tendered at a later stage.
The National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP) aims to increase the share of installed capacities from renewable energy sources and energy storage systems in the energy mix to reach around 50 percent by 2030, subject to electricity demand growth.
Saudi Arabia is targeting 48 gigawatt hours (GWh) of BESS by 2030.
The first group of four BESS projects in the 500 MW / 2,000 MWh configuration was tendered in November 2024. A total of 33 local, regional and international companies were prequalified for the ISP projects in December 2024.
(Writing by Majda Muhsen; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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