"The MENA region – the next hot market for energy storage?" I asked in an article back in October 2017. It took a bit longer than I expected, but seven years later it''s time to replace the question mark with an exclamation mark. It''s hot indeed.
The MENA region is starting to witness a drastic increase in large-scale battery energy storage systems ("BESS") projects, accompanying a soaring penetration of renewable energy. This has happened at a pace, which seems to have surprised many market analysts.
In the past, forecasts for the MENA region showed a few GWh for the coming years at best. Usually, the region was not even split into individual countries, but combined into a broad "other" bucket.
However, if you add up the numbers for Saudi Arabia (KSA) alone, we end up at 13 GWh of grid-scale BESS operational or in construction already today. And if we add recent tenders, this will lead to a whopping 33.5 GWh of BESS capacity by 2026. This would make KSA the third biggest global BESS market after the USA and China.
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SaudiPower Procurement Company (SPPC) plans to procure up to 10GW, equivalent to 40 gigawatt-hours (GWh), of battery energy storage system (bess) capacity by 2030.
MEED understands the principal buyer conducted a market-sounding eventfor the project in December, in line with a plan to launchthe procurement process for one-fifth of this capacitythis year, according to sources familiar with the plan.
MEED reported that theprequalification process for the contract to develop and operate bess facilities could start this year.
The project will be developed using an independent power producer (IPP) model.
The first-phase project may or may not become part of round six of the kingdom's National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP), which currently involves the development of wind IPPs, as MEED previously reported.
Bess comprises rechargeable batteries that can store energy from various sources and discharge it when needed. It is one of the key solutions being considered to address the intermittency of renewable energy sources.
US/India-based Synergy Consulting is advising SPPCon the planned battery energy storage system IPP.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) IPP projects account for 66 per cent of the total capacity, or about4,400MW.Wind IPPs account for the remaining capacity.
At least three of these schemes are now operational:the 300MW Sakaka solar PV, the 400MW Dumat al-Jandal wind IPP and the Rabigh solar IPPprojects.
SPPCis preparing to issue the request for proposals for the contracts to develop and operate four solar PV IPP projects with a total combined capacity of 3,700MW before the end of the first quarter of thisyear. The projects make upNREP's fifth round.
SPPC is procuring through a public tendering process 30 per cent of the kingdom's target renewable energy installed capacity of 58,700MW by 2030.
Saudi sovereign wealth vehicle, the Public Investment Fund, is procuring the rest through the Price Discovery Scheme.
Main image: Pixabay
By the end of October 2024, there had been $17bn of contract awards across Saudi Arabia’s five gigaprojects, according to regional projects tracker MEED Projects, up from the $16bn recorded during the same period in 2023.
The five official gigaprojects named by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud are: Diriyah, Neom, Qiddiya, Roshn and the projects being developed by Red Sea Global.
While the growth in awards on these schemes in 2024 is positive, the pace of activity falls short of the strong growth that was expected as the gigaprojects move into the delivery phase.
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