Saudi Arabia’s large-scale renewable energy plan

In 2012, Saudi Arabia unveiled its ambitious renewable energy capacity targets: 25 GW of CSP, 16 GW of solar PV, 9 GW of wind, 3 GW of waste-to-energy, and 1 GW of geothermal by 2032. In February 2013, the country released a White Paper detailing the proposed competitive procurement process of its K.A.CARE programme.

In the introductory bidding round, K.A.CARE is targeting 500–800 MW of renewable energy projects. In the first round, it is targeting 2–3 GW of renewables capacity, of which 1,100 MW will be solar PV and 900 MW CSP, and in the second round, it is targeting 3–4 GW of renewables capacity, of which 1,300 MW will be solar PV and 1,200 MW CSP. The timing for the sequential rounds after the introductory round will be determined based on the length of each preceding round. It is expected that a single procurement round will last between six and 10 months.