Saudi Arabia begins qualifying bidders for 3GW/12GWh battery storage RFP

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

Saudi Arabia’s state-owned Saudi Power Procurement Company has started the qualification process for its second large-scale build-own-operate BESS tender.

Via its ‘Principal Buyer’ subsidiary, the Company is seeking companies to hold 100% equity in SPVs to develop and operate a total of six battery energy storage system (BESS) projects of 500MW/2,000MWh each, totalling 3GW/12GWh.

Each SPV will enter into a Storage Services Agreement with Principal Buyer for its long-term offtake.

The projects are:

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

  1. The 500MW/2,000MWh Samha BESS ISP, Site Location: Qassim province
  1. The 500MW/2,000MWh Al-Leeth BESS ISP, Site location: Makkah province
  1. The 500MW/2,000MWh Al-Henakiyah BESS ISP, Site location: Madinah province
  1. The 500MW/2,000MWh Khulis BESS ISP, Site location: Makkah province
  1. The 500MW/2,000MWh Sadawi BESS ISP, Site location: Eastern province
  1. The 500MW/2,000MWh Ashyrah BESS ISP, Site location: Makkah province

It follows the first build-own-operate tender, for which it revealed the shortlisted bidders in January 2025, with the final results still yet to be announced.

Combined with the various other procurements and projects in Saudi Arabia, there is now almost 50GWh of large-scale BESS capacity being procured, built or tendered for in the country.

Saudi Arabia’s National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) aims to reach a clean energy mix of 50% by 2030.

We’ll bring you more on this in the coming weeks.

3 November 2026
Málaga, Spain
Understanding technology and supplier selection for Europe’s utility-scale PV market in 2027. PV ModuleTech Europe 2026 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of PV module, inverter and battery supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, supply chain traceability, quality assurance, factory auditing, system reliability, and supplier bankability.

Read Next

Premium
September 22, 2026
Nearly 21GWh of grid-scale BESS came online globally last month, of which around a fifth was in Saudi Arabia while the majority was in China. 
September 18, 2026
All BESS and demand response projects selected under ASL’s 2023 firming tender for New South Wales, Australia, are now operational.
September 16, 2026
Dubai is planning to build 1,000MW of lithium-ion battery storage, expandable to 2,000MW and delivering 6,000MWh of capacity, according to panellists speaking on the “Key Trends from Early Middle East BESS Projects” panel at Energy Storage Summit Middle East 2026.
September 14, 2026
We hear from the BESS lead at RWE Renewables Europe & Australia ahead of the Energy Storage Summit Germany 2026, discussing the major trends, challenges and opportunities in the country’s grid-scale storage market. 
September 10, 2026
Two pilot deployments of sodium-ion (Na-ion) battery storage technologies are currently being solicited in India.