One of the deals aims to build a 20 GW ingot and wafer solar photovoltaic manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has signed two solar PV manufacturing agreements with Chinese manufacturers JinkoSolar and TCL Zhonghuan Renewable Energy.
Both deals, done through joint ventures (JVs), will bring 30 GW of solar PV manufacturing, from ingots to modules, to Saudi Arabia. The agreements have been signed by Renewable Energy Localization Company (RELC), a company 100% owned by PIF, together with the participation of Saudi renewable energy investor Vision Industries (VI) and Chinese manufacturers.
One of the two solar manufacturing deals was signed with Lumetech, a subsidiary of Chinese solar manufacturer TCL Zhonghuan Renewable Energy. This agreement would allow domestic manufacturing of ingots and wafers with a nominal annual capacity of 20 GW.
The facility will be built and financed through a joint venture between Lumetech, RELC and Vision Industries. Lumetech and RELC will own 40% of the capital and VI the remaining 20%.
On the other hand, the agreement signed with JinkoSolar aims to bring 10 GW of annual nominal capacity of n-type solar cells and modules of domestic photovoltaic manufacturing capacity to Saudi Arabia. Although the agreement does not specify the technology used, JinkoSolar primarily manufactures tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) products. The Chinese manufacturer aims to phase out its p-type production capacity and reach 90% of the total capacity produced from n-type by the end of the year.
Similar to the Lumetech deal, JinkoSolar and RELC will own 40% of the equity capital and VI will own the remaining 20%.
The timeline and location for the construction of both manufacturing plants has not been revealed so far. However, JinkoSolar said the development and construction schedule will be “subject to market conditions.”
Yazeed Al-Humied, Deputy Governor and Director of MENA Investments at PIF, said: “The new agreements are part of PIF’s efforts to localize advanced technologies in the renewable sector in Saudi Arabia and deliver on commitments to increase the proportion of local content as well as as well as how to contribute to localizing the production of 75% of the components of Saudi Arabia’s renewable projects by 2030, in line with the National Renewable Energy Program of the Ministry of Energy.
“These projects will also allow Saudi Arabia to become a global hub for the export of renewable technologies.”
Offshoring of photovoltaic manufacturing in the Middle East
These are the latest solar manufacturing deals that Saudi Arabia has secured so far this year. American solar tracker manufacturer GameChange Solar recently partnered with Chinese company Jiangsu Zhenjiang New Energy Equipment (JZNEE). The partnership between both companies will involve the construction of a new tracker manufacturing plant in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, with an annual component production capacity of up to 3 GW. Commercial production from the facility is expected to begin later this year and capacity could be expanded to 5 GW.
A neighboring country, the United Arab Emirates, could see the development of a polysilicon facility from solar manufacturer GCL Tech. Last month, the company announced that it will explore possible cooperation opportunities with Mubadala Investment Company, one of the Emirates’ sovereign wealth funds. United Arab Emirates, to establish a comprehensive silicon ecosystem of global and regional importance in the United Arab Emirates.
