Giants of the energy‑storage market to compete for contracts. At stake: 12 GWh
The state‑owned Saudi Power Procurement Company has published a list of companies that qualified to participate in the second tender for the construction and operation of battery energy storage systems with a total capacity of 3 GW and an energy capacity of 12 GWh.
Among the qualified companies are some of the largest players in the energy and technology sectors. The contracts will be contested by, among others, ACWA Power, Masdar, EDF, TotalEnergies, Marubeni, as well as battery storage system manufacturers such as Tesla, Envision Energy and Gotion.
International competition
The list published by SPPC includes both Saudi and regional energy companies, as well as international investors, EPC contractors and battery technology suppliers. This shows that the Saudi energy storage market is becoming one of the most attractive in the world.
Some companies have been qualified as technical partners. This applies, among others, to Tesla, Envision Energy and Gotion. EDF and TotalEnergies, on the other hand, will be able to act both as project management partners and as technical leads for the investment. For now, however, it is not yet known which consortia will be formed at the bidding stage.
Good to know
Saudi Arabia has one of the most ambitious energy‑storage development plans in the world. By 2030, it aims to reach 48 GWh of installed battery energy storage capacity (BESS). This means that the current 12 GWh tender alone accounts for 25% of the entire national target. Ultimately, the storage systems are intended to support the implementation of the Vision 2030 strategy, under which 50% of Saudi Arabia’s electricity is to come from renewable energy sources by the end of the decade.
Six energy‑storage systems of 2 GWh each
The tender, announced in April, covers six identical projects implemented under the Build‑Own‑Operate model. This means that the selected companies will be responsible not only for constructing the energy‑storage systems, but also for financing them and operating them afterwards.
Each installation will have a capacity of 500 MW and an energy capacity of 2 GWh. The projects will be built in six locations:
- Samha (Al‑Qassim Province),
- Al‑Leeth (Makkah Province),
- Al‑Henakiyah (Medina Province),
- Khulis (Makkah Province),
- Sadawi (Eastern Province),
- Ashyrah (Makkah Province).
In total, this means the creation of new energy‑storage systems with a combined capacity of 12 GWh.
Saudi Arabia is steadily expanding its BESS sector
This is already the second large‑scale energy‑storage tender organized by SPPC. The previous one covered four projects with a total capacity of 2 GW and an energy capacity of 8 GWh. The list of qualified bidders was published at the beginning of 2025, but no final decisions have been announced yet.
It is estimated that, taking into account projects underway both in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the region currently has around 77 GWh of large‑scale energy‑storage systems at various stages of preparation, tendering or construction. This shows that the Middle East is increasingly becoming one of the most important markets for BESS technologies globally.
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