The Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) has signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) for five independent power producer (IPP) projects, including thermal and solar photovoltaic power projects, totalling 9.2GW, as reported by Zawya.

The agreements were signed in the presence of Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.

The projects include the Rumah 1 and 2 and Nairyah 1 and 2 IPP projects, which will use combined cycle gas turbine technology with carbon capture readiness.

The agreements also cover the Sadawi solar photovoltaic (PV) IPP project, which is part of the fifth phase of the country's National Renewable Energy Programme, as stated by the Ministry of Energy.

The PPAs were signed with a consortium of Acwa Power, the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) and the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) for Rumah-1.

The levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) is 4.5859 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), while Nairyah-1's LCOE is 4.6114 cents/kWh.  

The PPAs were signed with a consortium of the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), JERA and Al Bawani for Rumah-2. The LCOE is 4.5613 cents/kWh, and for Nairyah-2 4.4960 cents/kWh.

The four projects are expected to commence commercial operations in the second quarter of 2028.

For the Sadawi project, the PPAs were signed with a consortium comprising Masdar, KEPCO and GD Power Development. The LCOE is 1.2926 cents/kWh and the project is scheduled to begin commercial operations in the second quarter of 2027.

The five projects represent a total investment of 35bn Saudi riyals ($9.3bn) and align with Saudi Vision 2030 goals to achieve a balanced energy mix with 50% renewable energy and 50% natural gas, phasing out liquid fuels in electricity production.

SPPC also recently signed PPAs for three solar photovoltaic projects with a capacity of 5.5GW in Saudi Arabia.

The consortium associated with the PPAs comprises ACWA Power, Badeel, a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund, and Aramco Power, a Saudi Aramco subsidiary.