Saudi Aramco Power Company, the utility asset of the kingdom's oil company, joined the consortium led by Acwa Power to develop the 1.5 Gigawatt Sudair Solar plant in the kingdom. The project reached financial close on Sunday.
The 3.4 billion Saudi riyals ($907m) project, which is backed by the kingdom's Public Investment Fund, will be built within Sudair Industrial City and will provide power to 185,000 homes, offsetting 2.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
In April, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the development of the project. The consortium then signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with the Saudi Power Procurement Company. The project is set for commissioning in the second half of 2022 and will become the largest of its kind in the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest exporter of oil, plans to add gas and renewables capacity equating to one million barrels of oil per day by 2030.
The kingdom is looking to green its power mix and export more barrels of oil. It is also committing to lowering emissions and the energy impact of fossil fuels as part of its diversification strategy for 2030.
The PIF holds a 50 per cent stake in Acwa Power, one of the most prolific developers of conventional and renewable energy projects in the kingdom.
The sovereign wealth fund has been given the mandate to develop nearly 70 per cent of renewable projects in Saudi Arabia. Utilities and renewables are among the 13 sectors identified by the fund as part of its Vision 2030 strategy.
Acwa Power and Saudi Arabia's Badeel, which is part of the consortium, will hold a 50 per cent and 35 per cent stake each in the company. Aramco's Sapco will have a 30 per cent interest in the company.
The solar project has one of the lowest tariffs for solar photovoltaic projects globally.
Mizuho Bank, Riyad Bank, Korea Development Bank, Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation, Al Rajhi Banking and Investment Corporation, Standard Chartered are financiers of the project. Bank Al Bilad, Saudi British Bank and SMBC International provided equity bridge financing.
Funding for the scheme is based on limited recourse project financing with senior debt structured as soft mini-perm facility with a tenure of 28 years, covering both conventional and Islamic tranches.
"Our involvement in the Sudair Solar PV plant reflects our efforts to advancing sustainable energy solutions, both within our own operations and the broader energy network," said Aramco senior vice president - downstream, Mohammed Al Qahtani.
"While hydrocarbons will continue to be a vital part of the energy mix for decades to come, renewables like solar have an important role to play in helping achieve the world’s climate goals. Sudair will support Saudi Arabia’s ambition to generate part of the nation’s power needs from renewable energy by 2030, and is one of several low-carbon energy options being deployed by Aramco," he added.
The engineering procurement and construction contract for the project was awarded to Larsen & Toubro in April.
Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make
When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.
“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.
This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).
|
Age
|
$250 a month
|
$500 a month
|
$1,000 a month
|
|
25
|
$640,829
|
$1,281,657
|
$2,563,315
|
|
35
|
$303,219
|
$606,439
|
$1,212,877
|
|
45
|
$131,596
|
$263,191
|
$526,382
|
|
55
|
$44,351
|
$88,702
|
$177,403
|
