DUBAI—A consortium led by EDF Power Solutions and SPIC Huanghe Hydropower Development Co., Ltd. (SPIC HHDC), in partnership with Saudi Aramco Power Company (SAPCO), a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, has achieved financial close on two landmark solar power projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The projects, Al Masa'a Solar Power Plant (1,000 MW) and Al Henakiyah-2 Solar Power Plant (400 MW), represent a combined installed capacity of 1.4 GW. Covington advised a group of leading local, regional, and international financial institutions on the projects.
Located in Hail Province, approximately 590 km north of Riyadh, the Al Masa'a plant is expected to achieve commercial operation in Q3 2027. The Al Henakiyah-2 plant, to be situated around 720 km west of the capital in Madinah Province, is expected to become operational in Q1 2027.
Both solar power plants are part of Saudi Arabia’s National Renewable Energy Program (NREP)—and contribute to the Kingdom’s strategic objective of increasing the share of renewables in the electricity generation mix to around 50% by 2030.
The Covington team was led by Marc Norman, with Christoph Schulz leading the financing workstream, and included Richard Keenan, Derek Kirton, Brian Shonubi, Jamie Tribe, Cameron Busch, Florence Cock, and Samya Idi.