The Saudi government has opened bidder qualification in its push for renewable energy in electric power generation.
The Renewable Energy Project Development Office of the Saudi Ministry of Energy, Industry, and Mineral Resources has requested qualifications for two projects: a 300-Mw photovoltaic facility at Sakaka in Al Jouf Province and a 400-Mw wind farm at Midyan in Tabuk Province.
The request applies to “any company (or consortium of companies) with the technical and financial capabilities to execute projects of this scale,” the government said in a press statement.
As part of an economic diversification program called Vision 2030, the National Renewable Energy Program calls for installation of 9.5 Gw of generation capacity fueled by renewable energy by 2023 (OGJ Online, June 1, 2016). The government has an interim target of 3.45 Gw of renewable power by 2020 under a related transportation program.
According to the US Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook, Saudi Arabia had about 66 Gw of installed capacity in 2014.
Fuel oil and diesel supply about half the energy for Saudi power generation. Natural gas supplies the rest.
During summertime peak demand, oil use for power generation can exceed 900,000 b/d.
