Saudi Arabia opens 8 GWh battery storage tender

Saudi Arabia has launched the qualification process for the first group of battery energy storage system (BESS) projects with a total capacity of 2,000 MW/ 8,000 MWh as part of its efforts to expand renewable energy in its power mix.

The first group consists of four projects to be developed under the build-own-operate (BOO) model, granting full ownership to the winning developer of each project, the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) said on Monday.

The four projects offered in the tender include the 500-MW Al-Muwyah and 500-MW Haden battery energy storage projects in Makkah province, the 500-MW Al-Khushaybi project in Al-Qassim province and the 500-MW Al-Kahafa project in Hail province.

All four batteries will have a storage period of four hours.

Each project company will sign a 15-year energy storage service agreement with SPPC which is the principal buyer of electricity in the Kingdom.

The launch of energy storage projects will support Saudi Arabia's goal to boost the share of renewable energy sources in the electricity mix to about 50% by 2030, while also enhancing the flexibility and reliability of the power system. Earlier this year, SPPC opened a 4.5-GW renewables tender and shortlisted several bidders for the next round of competition for four solar projects, totalling 3.7 GW in capacity, while Riyadh-based developer ACWA Power reached financial close on 5.5 GW of solar projects.

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