The Saudi energy ministry’s Renewable Energy Project Development Office (Repdo) has awarded a 400MW wind farm project, to be developed at Dumat Al Jandal in the northern Al Jawf region, to France’s EDF (51%) and Abu Dhabi state renewables firm Masdar (49%). The Dumat Al Jandal project is expected to cost $500mn and to generate around 1.4TWh each year (an average generation rate of 160MW).

Masdar says the consortium submitted the most competitive bid, with a record low levelized cost for electricity of US¢2.13/kWh. Repdo’s previous award, and Saudi Arabia’s only under-construction renewables project, was to local firm Acwa Power for a 300MW-capacity solar PV plant, to be built just to the east at Sakaka, for a then record low electricity cost for any renewables project of $2.34/kWh. (CONTINUED - 277 WORDS)