EDF Renewables and Masdar have reached financial close on the 415MW Dumat Al Jandal wind farm in Saudi Arabia.
The consortium said it has received financial backing from unnamed Saudi and international banks.
Construction of the wind farm, which is located in the Al Jouf region, will start shortly, with commercial operations due in the first quarter of 2022.
The Saudi Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources’ Renewable Energy Project Development Office awarded the $500m project in January following a call for tenders in August 2017.
The winning consortium submitted the most cost-competitive bid of $21.3 per megawatt hour.
Vestas will provide 99 V150-4.2MW turbines to the project and will also be responsible for engineering, procurement and construction.
TSK will be responsible for the balance of plant, while CG Holdings will provide the substations and high-voltage infrastructure.
Dumat Al Jandal will supply electricity to the Saudi Power Procurement Company, a subsidiary of SEC the Saudi power generation and distribution company, under a 20-year power purchase agreement.
EDF Renewables chief executive Bruno Bensasson said: “We are delighted to take part in the first wind project in the country, which is set to be the most powerful wind farm in the Middle East.
“This new step reflects the quality of our partnership with Masdar, which has enabled us to jointly submit the most competitive bid. Wind power is now representing a renewable and economical solution in the energy mix.
“This new project demonstrates our ambitions in the country and represents another step forward under the EDF Group’s Cap 2030 strategy, which aims to double its renewable energy capacity by 2030 – both in France and worldwide – to 50GW.”
Masdar chief executive Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi said: “The award of Saudi Arabia’s first and the Middle East’s largest wind farm during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in January was a momentous occasion for our company and our partners.
“It also illustrated the depth of Saudi Arabia’s commitment to realise its bold strategy to substantially increase the contribution of renewables in its total energy mix to 27.3GW by 2024, from wind as well as solar energy.
“The over-subscribed financing of the Dumat Al Jandal project further illustrates the confidence of local and international lenders, and the investment community, in the economy of the Kingdom and its potential as a hub for highly cost-effective renewable energy development.”