Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) has announced that a total of 21 top global utility project developers including Siemens, Samsung, GE, EDF, Korea's Kepco and Marubeni as well as regional heavyweights Acwa Power and Taqa have been prequalified for development of four power plants across the kingdom with a total capacity of 7,200MW.

These are distributed across two power plants in the central region (Rumah1 & Rumah2), and two in the eastern region (Nairyah1 & Nairyah2), with a capacity of 1800 MW per plant.

According to SPPC, all of these plants will operate using natural gas combined cycle technology with provision for carbon capture unit readiness.

These projects come in alignment with the Saudi Green Initiative, and its ambition to achieve greenhouse gases (GHGs) net-zero through the circular carbon economy approach by 2060, it added.

Those who have prequalified to bid for the project include global utility project developers and developer consortiums including European giants Siemens, GE, EDF and Engie; Korean greats Samsung and Kepco and as well as Japanese heavyweights - Marubeni, Mitsubishi, Sojitz Corporation, Summit Global Power and Kansai Electric Power - China Gezhouba Oversea Investment Company and Thai group Gulf Energy Development Public Company, said senior SPPC officials.

The project also has several regional players in the race including Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) in consortium with Japanese power generation company Jera; Kuwait's Gulf Investment Corporation and Qatar-based Nebras Power.

In a major boost to the local industries, many prominent players from Saudi Arabia too are part of the race for the coveted project led by top Saudi utility project developer Acwa Power.

These are Ajlan and Bros for Trading Company in consortium with China Power International Holding; Jomaih Energy and Water Company; Power and Water Utility Company for Jubail and Yanbu (Marafiq) and Saudi Electricity Company.

According to SPPC, the 7200MW plants will help the kingdom reach the optimal energy mix for electricity production and cut the amount of liquid fuel used by the country's electricity production sector, in order to achieve the optimal energy mix for electricity production in the kingdom from renewable energy and gas at a 50% for each of them.

The company had in November last year signed power purchase agreements with consortiums of Al Jomaih Energy and Water as well as Saudi Electricity Company for four conventional independent power plant (IPP) projects with a total 7.2GW capacity.

These plants - Taiba-1, Taiba-2, Qassim-1, and Qassim-2 - are being set up in the kingdom at a total investment of SR29 billion ($7.8 billion).

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