Saudi Arabia's Tihama power plants to be expanded

GE is supplying the turbines for the site.

International Power and Saudi Oger have announced this week that they have signed Energy Conversion Agreements (ECAs) to expand Saudi Arabia's Tihama power plant. Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) has given the go ahead for the deal, which will see the two firms expand the power output at their joint venture plant.

The expansion will see the addition of 532MW of power output at three sites, with engineering, procurement and construction work being carried out by Hyundai Heavy Industries. General Electric will be supplying the gas turbines for the plant. Construction is set to begin in May this year, with the commencement of operations beginning between late 2014 and mid 2015. The partners have emphasized that the expansion will be based on technology that will increase output with a lower carbon footprint.

Head of Saudi Oger's Utilities Division, Joseph Aboudiwan, states that the deal "underscores our deep commitment to the realisation of private utility schemes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and regionally." The expansion is set to see work at three of Tihama's four sites, and will be backed by long term ECAs until 2026.

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