Saudi Arabia’s renewable giant ACWA Power said it currently has 26 projects under construction, marking the highest number in its 20-year history.

The 700-megawatt (MW) Ar Rass Solar PV plant in Saudi Arabia achieved commercial operation in just 18 months following its financial close in February 2023, CEO Marco Arcelli said in the Q3 2024 financial statement.

The company is actively expanding its portfolio, as it signed a water purchase agreement (WPA) for the Hamriyah Independent Water Project in the UAE, which, when completed, will produce 410,000 cubic metres per day, its fourth reverse osmosis water desalination plant in the country.

“Optimising the operational and financial performance of our project companies is a critical element of our business model,” Arcelli said.

ACWA Guc, a 950 MW combined-cycle gas turbine asset operating in Turkey, has been sustaining heavy financial losses owing to its foreign currency-denominated long-term debt since 2018, the CEO said.

However, the company signed a settlement agreement in August, which freed the asset from any debt, removing the financial shackles around the project’s performance, he added.

ACWA Power received on 7 November 2024 a notice from the project company for Riverside Solar project located in the Tashkent region of Uzbekistan, stating that it has been granted the Commercial Operation Certificate of Plant 1 of Utility–Scale Solar Photovoltaic and Battery Storage Project.

(Editing by Anoop Menon) (anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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