- Saudi Arabia recently awarded engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts for three energy storage systems are estimated to be worth over $800m.
- A source familiar with the projects’ tendering process said the total contract value would have ranged between $750m and $900m.
Saudi Arabia recently awarded engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts for three energy storage systems are estimated to be worth over $800m.
National Grid Saudi Arabia awarded Riyadh-based investment group Algihaz Holding the contract to build the facilities, which will have a total combined capacity of 7.8 gigawatt-hours (GWh) across three locations in Saudi Arabia.
In July, China-headquartered Sungrow announced that it had signed three “landmark energy storage contracts” with Algihaz Holding, amounting to the “world’s largest grid-side storage order”. According to Sungrow, each project will have a capacity of 2.6 GWh, totalling 7.8 GWh.
The three storage projects are located in Najran, Madaya, and Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia. Sungrow added that deliveries are expected to commence this year, and the grid connection is anticipated by 2025.
A source familiar with the projects’ tendering process said the total contract value would have ranged between $750m and $900m. Based on the agreement with Algihaz, Sungrow will deliver over 1,500 units of its latest Power Titan 2.0 liquid-cooled storage system.
According to reports citing a Sungrow spokesperson, the system’s integrated AC storage design and high energy density will save 55 per cent of the required land area. Saudi Arabia is pursuing the EPC and independent power producer (IPP) contracting models to procure energy storage capacity for grid balancing and support.
In May, the principal buyer, Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC), announced that it is several months away from seeking developers’ interest in the contract to develop and operate the 2,000MW first phase of a battery energy storage system (BESS) project.
According to an industry source at the time, SPPC and its consultants were finalising the project sites, and the start of the procurement process could be “a few months away”. SPPC plans to procure up to 10GW, equivalent to 40GWh, of bess capacity by 2030.
Bess comprises rechargeable batteries that can store and discharge energy from various sources when needed. It is one of the key solutions being considered to address the intermittency of renewable energy sources.