The Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) has announced the winning bids for four combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants with a combined capacity of 7.2GW. A further 1.2GW will come from an expansion project at Rabigh Power Plant. While Saudi Arabia has extremely ambitious renewable energy plans, it still plans for a 50:50 split between gas-fired and renewable electricity generation by 2030 and is investing accordingly.
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 program entails a near-complete re-wiring of the country’s economy, driven by huge planned private and non-oil sector growth which will drive a considerable increase in electricity demand. Nationwide electricity consumption increased to a record 309.5TWh in 2022 according to state regulator WERA, and Saudi thinktank Kapsarc expects this to rise by another 18% to 365TWh in 2030 (see chart 1). (CONTINUED - 701 WORDS)
