Saudi Arabia Awards 1.5 GW Dawadmi Wind Project in Landmark Renewable Energy Push
Record-low wind power cost and strategic consortium selection mark a major milestone under Saudi Arabia’s National Renewable Energy Program
Saudi Arabia has awarded the rights to develop the 1.5 gigawatt Dawadmi wind energy project in Riyadh Province to a consortium led by Korea Electric Power Corporation, alongside Saudi firm Nesma Renewable Energy and the United Arab Emirates’ Etihad Water and Electricity Company, as part of the sixth round of renewable project awards under the Kingdom’s National Renewable Energy Program.
The project’s contracted levelised cost of electricity, at approximately 1.33803 U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour, establishes a new global benchmark for competitive wind power pricing.
The award was formalised through a long-term Power Purchase Agreement with the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC), the principal buyer of renewable energy capacity in the Kingdom, reflecting confidence in Saudi Arabia’s development and financing models for large-scale clean power infrastructure.
The Dawadmi project’s 1,500 MW capacity, with 142 turbines specifically adapted for high-temperature and dusty conditions, underscores Saudi Arabia’s ambition to scale wind power alongside its expanding solar portfolio as it progresses towards its Vision 2030 goals of deriving fifty percent of national electricity from renewable sources.
This agreement is part of a wider 4.5 GW package of renewable energy contracts awarded in the same round, encompassing one wind and four solar projects with total investments exceeding nine billion Saudi riyals.
In addition to Dawadmi, the tender includes solar plants such as the 1.4 GW Najran Solar Energy Project, which reported one of the world’s lowest solar power tariffs, and other large utilities in Jazan and Hail provinces.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy, represented by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has highlighted that these competitive tariffs reflect the Kingdom’s efficient procurement approach and the growing investor confidence in its renewable energy market.
With this phase, the total renewable energy capacity under contract in the Kingdom now stands at tens of gigawatts, with a significant portion already grid-connected, signalling rapid progress in the nation’s clean energy transformation and positioning Saudi Arabia as a key global player in renewable energy deployment.
The project’s contracted levelised cost of electricity, at approximately 1.33803 U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour, establishes a new global benchmark for competitive wind power pricing.
The award was formalised through a long-term Power Purchase Agreement with the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC), the principal buyer of renewable energy capacity in the Kingdom, reflecting confidence in Saudi Arabia’s development and financing models for large-scale clean power infrastructure.
The Dawadmi project’s 1,500 MW capacity, with 142 turbines specifically adapted for high-temperature and dusty conditions, underscores Saudi Arabia’s ambition to scale wind power alongside its expanding solar portfolio as it progresses towards its Vision 2030 goals of deriving fifty percent of national electricity from renewable sources.
This agreement is part of a wider 4.5 GW package of renewable energy contracts awarded in the same round, encompassing one wind and four solar projects with total investments exceeding nine billion Saudi riyals.
In addition to Dawadmi, the tender includes solar plants such as the 1.4 GW Najran Solar Energy Project, which reported one of the world’s lowest solar power tariffs, and other large utilities in Jazan and Hail provinces.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy, represented by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has highlighted that these competitive tariffs reflect the Kingdom’s efficient procurement approach and the growing investor confidence in its renewable energy market.
With this phase, the total renewable energy capacity under contract in the Kingdom now stands at tens of gigawatts, with a significant portion already grid-connected, signalling rapid progress in the nation’s clean energy transformation and positioning Saudi Arabia as a key global player in renewable energy deployment.
