Key project details

• Capacity: 700 MW
• Investors: Consortium of Marubeni Corp. (Japan) and Abdulaziz Al-Ajlan Sons (Saudi Arabia)
• Investment volume: ~$458 million
• Cost of electricity (LCOE): 1.72468 ¢/kWh
• Purchase mechanism: Long-term agreement with Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC)

Context of renewable energy development in Saudi Arabia

Objective: Increasing the share of renewable energy in the energy balance to 50% by 2030 (as part of the National Renewable Energy Program).

Current plans:

• Annual auctions for 20 GW of new renewable energy capacity.
• 2030 target: 100-130 GW of renewable energy.
• Previous LCOE record: 1.56558 ¢/kWh (May 2023, wind power).

SPPC’s role

SPPC (Saudi Power Procurement Company) is responsible for:

• Feasibility studies of projects.
• Conducting competitive selection of renewable energy sources.
• Concluding long-term power purchase agreements (PPA).

Technologies and partners

• High probability of using Chinese wind turbines (Windey) in the project, given Marubeni’s partnership with Chinese manufacturers.
• Low energy cost (<2 ¢/kWh) confirms the competitiveness of wind generation in the region.

Conclusion

The Yanbu Wind Farm project demonstrates the active development of wind energy in Saudi Arabia with the involvement of international investors and the use of modern technologies. Extremely low tariffs ($0.017/kWh) make renewable energy a key element of the country’s energy transition.