Acwa Power gets $6bn loan for seven renewable projects

Acwa Power has secured SAR22.3 billion ($5.9 billion) in funding for seven renewable projects in Saudi Arabia that will jointly generate 15,000 megawatts (MW).

The company raised SAR5.4 billion from 11 banks for the Starah (2,000MW) and Shaqra (1,000MW) wind power projects in Riyadh province, it said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange.

Acwa Power owns 35.1 percent of the projects. Water and Electricity Holding Company (Badeel), a unit of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), holds 34.9 percent, while Saudi Aramco Power Company, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, owns 30 percent.

In another bourse filing, the renewables company said it had secured a SAR16.9 billion loan for five large-scale solar photovoltaic plants from a consortium of 18 local, global and regional banks.

These comprise Afif1 (2,000MW), Afif2 (2,000MW), Humaij (3,000MW), Bisha (3,000MW) and Khulis (2,000MW), located in the central, western and southern regions of the kingdom.

The proceeds will be used for the development, design, construction and operation of these renewable projects.

The loans have a 27-year duration. The terms of the facilities were not disclosed.

Further reading:

• Acwa Power gets $3bn for new Saudi power plant
• Acwa Power secures $3.4bn loan for two power plants
• Acwa Power bolsters clean energy portfolio

In October Acwa Power raised funding from a consortium of 17 regional and global banks for the SAR13.4 billion Qurayyah independent power producer project in Eastern Province.

It secured SAR12.8 billion from a local and global banking consortium in August to construct two power plants in the kingdom with a combined capacity of 3,600MW.

PIF owns 44 percent of Acwa Power. The stock closed 2.2 percent lower at SAR191 on Thursday, down 44 percent over the last year.