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Saudi Arabia’s largest solar PV project is set to achieve financial close.
- The development of the project has been minimally affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Although, the time taken to reach financial close from the bidding cycle has significantly lengthened.
Saudi Arabia’s largest solar PV Plant, the 1.5GW Sudair PV Independent Power Project (IPP), is set to achieve financial close in a week according to Rajith Nanda, Chief Investment Officer of ACWA Power. India’s Larsen & Toubro was awarded the project’s engineering, procurement, and construction contract last month. The first phase is expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2022.
Read also: Saudi Arabia to Deploy Seven New Solar Plants.
According to developers, the project has been minimally affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Nanda also stated that ACWA has 12 assets worth about $12 billion under construction, and they have shown limited slippage. He noted that the company had not received any notice of project cancellation over the last14-15 months; however, he agreed that the time taken to reach financial close from the bidding has lengthened.
Nanda says he is optimistic about the growth of renewable energy, especially as the pandemic has encouraged countries to adopt green initiatives and policies to accelerate their energy transition processes.
Nanda is also pointedly optimistic about green energy and stated that ACWA power currently has several projects at various stages of development, including the NEOM green hydrogen project in Saudi Arabia. “We see hydrogen in the same state where solar energy was five years back. It will for sure experience aggressive and promising cost and delivery outcomes over the next half a decade”, he added.