Saudi Arabia awards $1.16 billion for 8 GWh of battery storage; ACWA Power, Engie win big

The Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) has signed four storage service agreements for the first group of its independent battery energy storage system (BESS) projects, covering a combined capacity of 2,000 MW, and with a four hour duration for 8,000 MWh.

With the SPPC acting as the Principal Buyer in the deal, and projects supervised by the Ministry of Energy, the deal across four projects is for a total investment of more than $1.16 billion.

The four large-scale projects, each rated at 500 MW / 2000 MWh, will be delivered under a build-own-operate (BOO) model as has been flagged throughout the tender process.

Three of the projects – Al Muwyah BESS ISP and Haden BESS ISP in the Makkah Region, and Al Kahafa BESS ISP in the Hail Region – were awarded to a consortium comprising Saudi Energy, ACWA Power, and Al Sharif Contracting and Commercial Development Company, representing the majority of the wins.

The fourth development, the Al Khushaybi BESS ISP in the Qassim Region was awarded to a consortium comprising France’s Engie and Haji Abdullah Alireza & Co.

The four sites each aim to support the integration of utility-scale renewables into the Kingdom’s electricity system, enhancing operational flexibility and support the security of supply. The accompanying press release noted this will also bolster Saudi Arabia’s global leadership in the energy sector.

‘Vision 2030’

Driven by Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia continues to scale up its renewable energy and storage ambitions, targeting 48 GWh of battery energy storage capacity by 2030.

SPPC launched the tender for this initial 8 GWh group in November 2024, and a total of 33 local, regional, and international companies were prequalified for that initial round in December 2024. Under the tender structure, the winning consortiums hold 100% equity in special purpose vehicles (SPVs) responsible for developing and operating the assets, backed by 15-year Storage Services Agreements (SSAs) with SPPC.

As previously reported by ESS News, SPPC launched the qualification process for the second group in April 2026. The second tender comprises six projects with a cumulative capacity of 3 GW/12 GWh. In July 2026, SPPC announced a prequalification list of 27 companies for this group, including major global players such as Masdar, EDF, TotalEnergies, and China Longyuan Power Group.