Saudi's National Agricultural Development Company (NADEC), one of the largest food and agricultural companies in the Middle East and North Africa region, said on Monday that the first phase of its 30-megawatt (MW) solar power project in NADEC City, Haradh would be completed by the end of August 2021. 

The first phase would have a capacity of 10 MW, the company said in a stock exchange statement. 

It said the second and final phase of the project [with a capacity of 20 MW] would be completed by the end of October 2021. 

Eighty percent of the project’s construction work is complete, the statement added. 

In July 2019, NADEC had signed a 25-year solar Power Purchase Agreement with France’s Engie at a fixed price of 9.4 Halalahs per kWh to implement the solar power project.  

The project was originally scheduled to start operations by end-October 2020 but has since been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic triggering ‘force majeure’ situation that impacted the global supply chains, past statements filed by NADEC said.   

The commissioning and commercial operation date was postponed twice to 31 March 2021, and to 31 July 2021. 

NADEC said in July 2019 that it expects the project to reduce its fuel consumption within 124,000 barrels per year, which would, in turn, reduce carbon emissions by 53 million kg per year. 

The financial savings from the reduction in fuel consumption will start gradually from the date of operation based on the fuel prices prevailing at the time, the company said. 

(Writing by SA Kader; Editing by Anoop Menon) 

(anoop.menon@refinitiv.com) 

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