The ground breaking ceremony for the 300-megawatt Sakaka PV (photovoltaic) IPP project was held on Wednesday, ACWA Power company, the company awarded the project contract, announced in a statement.
The project is the first ever utility-scale renewable energy project under the National Renewable Energy Program of Saudi Arabia.
'The project is marked as the first project under the progressive initiative to benefit from renewable energy in the Kingdom and is set at a world record-breaking tariff that will transform the photovoltaic solar energy sector across the globe,' ACWA Power's statement read.
According to the statement, the start of the plant's commercial operation is planned for next year.
Upon completion, Sakaka PV IPP will supply 45,000 households with power in the Al Jouf region located in the north of the country.
The solar plant is expected to offset over 430,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year and create new employment opportunities in the fields of construction and operations.
The National Renewable Energy Program is a strategic initiative under Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program that aims to substantially increase the share of renewable energy capacity in the total energy mix within the Kingdom to 9.5 gigawatts by 2023.
By Gulsen Cagatay
Anadolu Agency
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