Saudi Arabia to build $2bn solar projects in Turkey

Saudi Arabia will invest $2 billion to build two solar power plants in Turkey, Turkish energy minister Alparslan Bayraktar said.

The two projects, developed in the first phase, will have a total capacity of 2,000 megawatts and be constructed in the central Anatolia region’s Sivas and Karaman provinces, he said on X.

Work is expected to start in 2027, with the first phase finished by the end of 2027. The entire project is expected to be completed by 2029.

Electricity purchases will be made for 25 years at a rate of €1.995 ($2.36) per kilowatt-hour from the Karaman plant and €2.3415 per kilowatt-hour from Sivas.

The agreement was signed during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Riyadh.

“We view these investments, which will be among the most significant examples of direct foreign investments in our energy sector, as fully financed through external funding,” the state-run Anadolu news agency quoted the minister as saying.

International financial institutions will also provide credit, he said.

The two solar plants will meet the electricity needs of 2.1 million households in Turkey, Bayraktar said.

Further reading:

• Turkey to power up electricity storage
• Turkey’s renewables push backed by World Bank
• Turkey and UAE’s Masdar close to finalising $1bn deal

In December, Bayraktar said Turkey had begun discussions with Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power on projects that would yield 5 gigawatts of solar generation.

Turkish vice president Cevdet Yilmaz last year estimated Acwa Power’s investments to be worth up to $5 billion.

Bayraktar said talks took place on power grid connectivity between Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

“The project is of such magnitude and importance that it can affect our entire region,” he said.

Ankara received concessional financing totalling $748 million from the World Bank in August to modernise and expand its power transmission infrastructure with large-scale solar and wind projects.