KSA"s National Renewable Energy Program to attract investors: Minister

RIYADH: The Kingdom launched on Monday the first request for qualifications (RFQ) for Round One of the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP). It is the first step toward the Kingdom’s target of 3.45GW of renewables by 2020 and 9.5GW by 2023.
The program is run by the Renewable Energy Project Development Office (REPDO), an office of the Saudi Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources.
The international RFQ process for the NREP is open to any company with the technical and financial capabilities to execute projects of this scale.
The RFQ will be managed through an eProcurement portal, ensuring that the process is fair, transparent and fast.
Round 1 RFQ documents can be viewed, downloaded and responded to via the dedicated, secure government gateway. It can be found at www.powersaudiarabia.com.sa. The RFQ window closes on March 20 with pre-qualified bidders announced by April 10.
Khalid Al-Falih, minister of energy, industry, and mineral resources, said: “This marks the starting point of a long and sustained program of renewable energy deployment in Saudi Arabia, that will not only diversify our power mix but also catalyze economic development and support long-term prosperity in line with Vision 2030’s goals which include creating a new renewable industry and support the buildup of this promising sector.
“It is our goal to make the National Renewable Energy Program among the most attractive, competitive and well executed government renewable energy investment programs in the world, and we have all the necessary infrastructure in place to ensure that is the case,” he added.
The sites selected for Round 1 include Sakaka, in the Al-Jouf Province where the 300 MW of solar will be developed, and Midyan in the Tabuk Province (for the 400 MW wind project. The projects will be backed by 25-year power purchase agreements for solar and 20-year for wind. Both sites have undergone full predevelopment work.