Two contractors have been appointed for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on Saudi Arabia’s four Group 1 battery energy storage system (bess) projects with a combined capacity of 2,000MW.

Saudi Arabia’s principal buyer, Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC), recently signed four storage service agreements for the bess projects, which will provide four hours of storage, equivalent to 8,000 megawatt-hours (MWh), and involve a total investment of more than SR4.35bn ($1.16bn).

Three projects were awarded to a consortium comprising Saudi Energy, Acwa and Al-Sharif Contracting & Commercial Development Company.

According to the source, India’s Larsen & Toubro will carry out EPC works for these three projects, comprising the Al-Muwyah and Haden bess independent storage providers (ISPs) in the Mecca region, and the Al-Kahafa bess ISP in the Hail region.

Each has a capacity of 500MW for four hours. The three projects have a combined capacity of 1,500MW and 6,000MWh.

L&T recently announced that it had secured “a major order” for bess projects in the Middle East but did not disclose the specific projects involved.

The fourth project, the Al-Khushaybi bess ISP in the Qassim region, was awarded to a consortium of France’s Engie and local firm Haji Abdullah Alireza & Co. This also has a capacity of 500MW for four hours.

China’s Sepco 3 has been appointed as the EPC contractor for this project, a source said.

The agreements cover the first group of ISP bess projects being procured by SPPC under a build, own and operate model. The projects are supervised by the Energy Ministry.

The projects form part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to achieve an electricity generation mix comprising approximately 50% renewable energy by 2030.

As previously reported, the Group 2 programme comprises six ISP projects with a total capacity of 3GW, equivalent to 12,000MWh based on a four-hour storage duration.

Developers recently submitted a first round of clarification requests to SPPC as they prepare their bids in advance of an October deadline.