Last Updated on 12th October 2023
ACWA Power has achieved financial closure for 10 key projects worth over USD 14 billion across nations. These projects all fall under ACWA Power's project portfolio, which includes renewable energy, water desalination, and Green hydrogen. In addition, it includes the USD 8.5 billion NEOM green Hydrogen project, the largest green hydrogen production facility under construction in Saudi Arabia.
Subsequently during the Saudi Arabia Investment Forum in New York on Tuesday 10 October 2023, Abdulhameed Al Muhaidib, CFO of ACWA Power said: The past 12 months marks a remarkable historic milestone for us, as it represents the highest number of projects we have ever successfully achieved financial closure for within 12 months. It demonstrates our agility, resilience, and unwavering commitment to creating a sustainable future for generations to come.
Apart from the NEOM Green Hydrogen project, ACWA Power also financially closed the Ar Rass solar PV and the Al Shuaibah 1 and Al Shuaibah 2 solar PV projects, which play a major role in Saudi Arabia's National Renewable Energy Program (NREP). In addition, AWCA also closed the three wind projects in Uzbekistan, the Kom Ombo solar project in Egypt, the Shuaibah 3 Independent water power plant (IWP), and most recently Rabigh 4 IWP in Yanbu.
ACWA Power is a Saudi Arabian company that specializes in the development, investment, and operation of power and water projects. It is a prominent player in the energy and water infrastructure sector, both in Saudi Arabia and internationally. ACWA Power is known for its involvement in the development of various types of power generation projects, including conventional and renewable energy sources, as well as desalination and water treatment projects. The company has its desalinated water production plants in 12 countries across the Middle East, Africa, and Central and Southeast Asia. Currently, ACWA Powers portfolio of projects in operation and development has an investment value exceeding USD 74.8 billion, and a capacity of more than 50 GW of power and 7.6 million cubic meters per day of desalinated water.
The NEOM Green Hydrogen project is the world's largest utility-scale commercially based hydrogen facility powered entirely by renewable energy. It is an equal joint venture between NEOM, Air Products, and ACWA Power. The project's estimated cost is around USD 8.5 Billion. When the project is expected to be commissioned by 2026, it will produce 600 tonnes per day of clean hydrogen by electrolysis. The project will mitigate the impact of 5 million metric tonnes of carbon emissions per year.
Ar Rass Solar Power Project is a 700MW independent power producer (IPP) project in Ar Rass city, Qassim province, Saudi Arabia. ACWA Power Consortium and the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) have signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with a total investment valued at USD 450 million for the development, construction, and operation of the solar power plant.
The Al Shuaibah 1 and Al Shuaibah 2 solar PV projects situated in Makkah Province, stand as a significant achievement in Saudi’s goal of clean energy generation. Both projects have a combined capacity of 2,631 MW. The project is expected to cater to the power requirements of over 450,000 households. A consortium of ACWA Power Public Investment Fund subsidiary Badeel and Aramco subsidiary SAPCO achieved a financial close on the impressive USD 2.37 billion on August 20, 2023.
The project is expected to start its operations by 2025.“Securing financing for this groundbreaking project marks a significant step towards achieving Saudi Arabia’s clean energy goals, in alignment with the National Renewable Energy Program, which aims to generate 50% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030. We are truly proud of this milestone and look forward to working closely with our key partners PIF, Aramco, and other contributors to successfully realize a sustainable future," Marco Arcelli, CEO of ACWA Power said.
ACWA Power came to a financial close on three major greenfield wind projects in Uzbekistan. The projects are located in Bash, Dzhankeldy, and Nukus. ACWA signed a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement with JSC National Electrical Grid of Uzbekistan for all three projects. These Independent power producers combined are expected to generate around 1100 MW of electricity. Subsequently, the total project cost is around USD 1.18 billion.
Kom Ombo PV is a 200 MW solar PV project. ACWA Power signed the Purchase Power Agreement with the Government of Egypt in October 2018 to develop, finance, construct, and operate the Kom Ombo Photovoltaic plant. The powerplant is expected to fulfill the power needs of 130 thousand households and offset 280 thousand tons of carbon dioxide per year. The total cost of the project is around USD 165 million.
Shuaibah 3 is a seawater desalination plant based on reverse osmosis technology. The project is located in the region of Shuaibah.ACWA has over 68% stake while Water and Electricity Holding (PIF) holds a 32% stake in the project. The financial closure was achieved in October 2022 and the project is expected to commence operation by May 2025. The total project cost is over USD 821 million.
Rabigh 4 is a seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plant. The project is a consortium of ACWA Power, Haji Ali Reza, and Al Moayyed. The project is expected to have a capacity of 600,000 cubic meters per day. Apart from this, the project cost is estimated to be USD 675 million. The project will be commissioned by 31st March 2026.