RIYADH:  Saudi-listed ACWA Power is expecting to close financing for its renewable project with The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) by end of the year, and its NEOM hydrogen project in the second half of next year.

The two projects, in addition to its ongoing developments in Sudair and Jazan, will have positive impacts on its earnings, Paddy Padmanathan, chief executive officer of ACWA Power, told Arab News.

Construction is in full swing for the project in Red Sea, with the company targeting partial operation by end of 2022, while real construction work for NEOM’s hydrogen plant is expected to start by early 2022, he added.

Riyadh-based ACWA, which is 44 percent owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), is the Kingdom’s most high-profile entity for building renewable energy and hydrogen projects.

The company plans to end investment in non-renewable schemes as part of the business’s commitment to reaching net zero by 2050.

ACWA Power announced on Oct. 27 the financial close and completion of the acquisition of the first group of assets for the Jazan integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) project.

The JV will complete the commissioning, testing and commence operating, and maintaining the plant to supply power, steam, hydrogen, and other utilities for Aramco’s Jazan refinery, under a 25-year contract with Aramco.

In August, ACWA announced the financial closure of 1.5 gigawatt PV solar plant at Sudair Industrial City, one of the largest solar parks in the country.

Sudair Solar PV project, the first project under PIF’s renewable energy program, is developed by a consortium with ACWA Power, SAPCO, a fully owned company of Aramco, and Badeel, a company fully owned by PIF.