Saudi Arabia claims 'record' low price as Marubeni wind power deal hits $15/MWh

Saudi Arabia claimed to have set a new record low price for wind power after signing a deal with a consortium led by Japan’s Marubeni.

The Saudi Power Procurement Company said it agreed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for output from the 600MW Al-Ghat wind farm with a levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of $0.0156/kWh.

A second project from the same consortium, the 500MW Waad Al-Shamal, came in only at $0.017/kWh, said the body which ran competitive tenders under the oil-rich kingdom’s fourth round of renewables procurement.

Although the mantle of lowest-cost green power is always open to debate based on factors such as various types of support given to projects, at less than $16/MWh the Al-Ghat figure is unquestionably pushing the boundaries of cheap wind power, with $20/MWh historically hailed as a big benchmark to break.

However, US analyst Philip Totaro, CEO of research house Intelstor, cited cheaper rates in the US, where he said PPAs as low as $8.94/MWh had been achieved.

At the signing in Tokyo Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud added: “The electricity produced from both projects is sufficient to power 257,000 residential units per year, which emphasises the significance of these projects in enhancing the energy efficiency in Saudi Arabia.”