Saudi Arabia Reveals Bidders for 3rd Phase of Renewable Energy Projects

A solar plant is seen in Uyayna, north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser
A solar plant is seen in Uyayna, north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser
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Saudi Arabia Reveals Bidders for 3rd Phase of Renewable Energy Projects

A solar plant is seen in Uyayna, north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser
A solar plant is seen in Uyayna, north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser

The Saudi Ministry of Energy announced the list of bidders of 1,200 MW Saudi renewable energy projects, consisting of four independent generation projects (IPP).

This phase consists of four independent solar photovoltaic generation projects with a total capacity of 1,200 megawatts, divided into two categories.

In a statement, the ministry said that the first category consists of the Wadi Al-Dawasir project with a capacity of 120 MW and the Laila project with a capacity of 80 MW.

The second category consists of the Al-Rass project with a capacity of 700 MW and the Saad project with a capacity of 300 MW.

The ministry added that a Request for Proposal brochure was issued for the two category B projects on April 8, 2020, and the two category A projects on April 22, 2020. Three bids were submitted for each of the four projects during the second quarter of 2021.

The winning bids will sign power purchase agreements for a period of 25 years with the Saudi Energy Procurement Company. ACWA Power, French Total Solar Company and AlFanar Energy Company were among the bidders.

All four projects are required to comply with local content requirements based on the mechanisms identified by the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority, the ministry underlined.

This comes as part of the efforts of the Ministry of Energy to achieve the objectives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ renewable energy initiative.

The initiative aims to increase the percentage of renewable energy to reach the optimal mix, raise the efficiency of the electricity sector, and achieve environmental goals by reducing carbon dioxide emissions, as well as the economic goals of reducing dependence on liquid fuels in electricity production.



US Treasury Targets Russia's Gazprombank with New Sanctions

FILE PHOTO: A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
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US Treasury Targets Russia's Gazprombank with New Sanctions

FILE PHOTO: A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

The United States imposed new sanctions on Russia's Gazprombank on Thursday, the Treasury Department said, as President Joe Biden steps up actions to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine before he leaves office in January.
The move, which wields the department's most powerful sanctions tool, effectively kicks Gazprombank out of the US banking system, bans its trade with Americans and freezes its US assets, Reuters reported.
Gazprombank is one of Russia's largest banks and is partially owned by Kremlin-owned gas company Gazprom. Since Russia's invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has been urging the US to impose more sanctions on the bank, which receives payments for natural gas from Gazprom's customers in Europe.
The fresh sanctions come days after the Biden administration allowed Kyiv to use US ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory. On Tuesday, Ukraine fired the weapons, the longest range missiles Washington has supplied for such attacks on Russia, on the war's 1,000th day.
The Treasury also imposed sanctions on 50 small-to-medium Russian banks to curtail the country's connections to the international financial system and prevent it from abusing it to pay for technology and equipment needed for the war. It warned that foreign financial institutions that maintain correspondent relationships with the targeted banks "entails significant sanctions risk."
"This sweeping action will make it harder for the Kremlin to evade US sanctions and fund and equip its military," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. "We will continue to take decisive steps against any financial channels Russia uses to support its illegal and unprovoked war in Ukraine."
Gazprombank said Washington's latest move would not affect its operations. The Russian embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
Along with the sanctions, Treasury also issued two new general licenses authorizing US entities to wind down transactions involving Gazprombank, among other financial institutions, and to take steps to divest from debt or equity issued by Gazprombank.
Gazprombank is a conduit for Russia to purchase military materiel in its war against Ukraine, the Treasury said. The Russian government also uses the bank to pay its soldiers, including for combat bonuses, and to compensate the families of its soldiers killed in the war.
The administration believes the new sanctions improve Ukraine's position on the battlefield and ability to achieve a just peace, a source familiar with the matter said.
COLLATERAL IMPACT
While Gazprombank has been on the administration's radar for years, it has been seen as a last resort because of its focus on energy and the desire to avoid collateral impact on Europe, a Washington-based trade lawyer said.
"I think that the current administration is trying to put as much pressure and add as many sanctions as possible prior to January 20th to make it harder for the next administration to unwind," said the lawyer, Douglas Jacobson.
Officials in Slovakia and Hungary said they were studying the impacts of the new US sanctions.
Trump would have the power to remove the sanctions, which were imposed under an executive order by Biden, if he wants to take a different stance, Jacobson said.
After Russia's invasion in 2022, the Treasury placed debt and equity restrictions on 13 Russian firms, including Gazprombank, Sberbank and the Russian Agricultural Bank.
The US Treasury has also worked to provide Ukraine with funds from windfall proceeds of frozen Russian assets.