In the presence of Minister of Energy, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, and Chairman of the Board of Managers of the Saudi Power Procurement Company (Principal Buyer) Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Principal Buyer signed four storage service agreements for the first group of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects.

The four projects have a combined capacity of 2,000 MW for 4 hours and involve total investment of more than SAR4.35 billion (approximately USD 1.16 billion).

These projects, supervised by the Ministry of Energy, are part of the first group of BESS projects under the build-own-operate model and form part of efforts by Saudi Arabia’s energy sector to strengthen the reliability and efficiency of electricity generation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The first group of BESS projects comprises Al Muwyah BESS ISP and Haden BESS ISP in Makkah Region, and Al Kahafa BESS ISP in Hail Region, each with a capacity of 500 MW for 4 hours. The three projects were awarded to a consortium comprising Saudi Energy, ACWA, and Al Sharif Contracting and Commercial Development Company. Al Khushaybi BESS ISP, located in Qassim Region, also with a capacity of 500 MW for 4 hours, was awarded to a consortium comprising ENGIE and Haji Abdullah Alireza & Co. Ltd.

The projects aim to support the integration of renewable energy and energy storage into the Kingdom’s electricity system and contribute to achieving an optimal electricity generation mix of approximately 50% renewable energy by 2030, in line with growing electricity demand.

These projects will also contribute to enhancing the reliability and efficiency of the electricity system, increasing its operational flexibility, supporting the security of electricity supply, and strengthening the Kingdom’s global leadership in the energy sector.The Principal Buyer is responsible for conducting pre-development studies, tendering power generation and energy storage projects, and signing power purchase agreements and storage service agreements with developer consortia.