Saudi Arabia has opened the qualification process for 3.2 GW of new solar and wind capacity under the eighth round of its National Renewable Energy Program (NREP). The Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC), operating as the Principal Buyer, released the Request for Qualification (RFQ) on November 11, 2026. The procurement covers three independent power projects across the Riyadh, Aseer and Makkah regions, marking another expansion of the Kingdom’s utility-scale renewable energy pipeline.
The round comprises two solar photovoltaic projects with a combined capacity of 1,900 MW and one wind project rated at 1,300 MW. The solar component includes the 900 MW Tumair Solar PV IPP in Riyadh province and the 1,000 MW East Al-Amoah Solar PV IPP in Aseer province. The wind component is the 1,300 MW Al-Mozeraah Wind IPP in Makkah province. Together, the three projects bring the procurement capacity to 3,200 MW.
The allocation gives wind a substantial role in this procurement round. At 1,300 MW, the Al-Mozeraah project represents approximately 40.6% of the total capacity, while the two solar projects account for the remaining 59.4%. The inclusion of a large wind project alongside two solar developments provides a more diversified technology mix across the three locations. The official announcement, however, does not disclose project-level investment values, expected tariffs, generation estimates or commissioning schedules at this stage.
The announcement is at the qualification stage, not the final project-award stage. Through the RFQ, SPPC invites prospective developers to demonstrate their eligibility for the subsequent procurement process. The company is responsible for preparing preliminary project studies, conducting tenders and signing Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and Storage Services Agreements with selected developers. Consequently, the current announcement establishes the project capacities and locations, but does not identify winning developers or final electricity purchase prices.
The projects fall under the NREP, which is led and supervised by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy. The programme aims to increase the share of installed capacity from renewable energy sources and energy storage systems to around 50% by 2030, subject to electricity demand growth. The inclusion of energy storage in this broader target is significant because the expansion of variable solar and wind generation also requires measures to support system flexibility and reliability. However, the three projects announced in Round 8 are identified as solar and wind generation projects; the official notice does not specify dedicated battery storage capacity for this procurement.
The latest round follows the Kingdom’s continued use of competitive procurement to expand renewable generation and attract private-sector developers. In July 2025, SPPC signed power purchase agreements for seven solar and wind projects with a combined capacity of 15,000 MW, under agreements involving a consortium led by ACWA Power, with Badeel and Aramco Power. That earlier contracting milestone illustrates the scale of the programme’s procurement pipeline, although it represents a separate group of projects from the newly announced eighth round.
For Saudi Arabia, the 3.2 GW qualification round adds projects in three different regions and advances the NREP’s capacity-expansion plans. The next significant milestones will be the qualification of developers, the subsequent bidding process and the announcement of project awards and tariffs. Those details will provide a clearer indication of the commercial terms and development timelines for the new solar and wind capacity.