ACWA Power signs agreements worth $1.8B

ACWA Power Co. signed four agreements worth $1,784 million (SAR 6,690 million) on the first day of the Future Investment Initiative (FII8) in Riyadh.

These agreements encompass key areas such as project financing, renewable energy and storage projects, as well as research and development initiatives in GCC, China, Central Asia and North Africa, according to a statement.

The first agreement involves a $690 million (SAR 2,588 million) framework agreement with the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) for general corporate finance facilities that will support the company’s future project pipeline in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other target markets.

A separate financing agreement includes a $240 million (SAR 900 million) shariah-compliant equity bridge loan (EBL) by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group.

The loan will finance two solar power projects in Uzbekistan. Located in Samarkand, the Sazagan 1 and 2 projects each consist of 500MW solar photovoltaic (PV) and 334MW battery energy storage systems (BESS) capacity. Both projects are expected to achieve commercial operations between Q3 2025, Q4 2026.The agreement marks the first corporate financing partnership with IFC, establishing a new avenue of collaboration for ACWA Power.

ACWA Power also announced a joint development agreement with battery solutions provider Gotion Power Morocco.

As part of the agreement, ACWA Power will develop a 500MW wind power plant, incorporating a 2,000 MWh BESS solution. The project will supply energy to Gotion Power’s battery manufacturing plant in Morocco, which is expected to begin production in the first half of 2026. The initial investment of the project is for $800 million (SAR 3,000 million).

Meanwhile, ACWA Power also signed a Research and Development Cooperation Agreement with China’s Lujiazui Administration Bureau to establish an R&D center in Shanghai. The $54 million (SAR 202 million) project will focus on advancing technologies related to solar, wind, energy storage, green hydrogen, and desalination. The centre will collaborate with local and global partners to develop advanced sustainable water and energy solutions for deployment across ACWA Power's portfolio.