(Yicai) July 17 -- Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has joined hands with three Chinese photovoltaic companies to localize the manufacturing and assembly of solar and wind power equipment and components in the Middle Eastern country.

PIF’s fully-owned entity Renewable Energy Localization and Saudi firm Vision Industries entered into agreements with Envision Energy, Jink Solar, and TCL Zhonghuan Renewable Energy Technology to localize advanced power generation and manufacturing technologies for renewable energy production in Saudi Arabia and maximize local content to help meet growing domestic, regional, and international demand, PIF announced yesterday.

“These agreements are part of PIF’s commitment to localize advanced renewable technologies in Saudi Arabia, aiming to achieve 75 percent localization of renewable project components by 2030, as outlined in the Ministry of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Program,” said Yazeed Al-Humied, deputy governor and head of Middle East and North Africa Investments at PIF. “They will also establish Saudi Arabia as a global hub for renewable technology exports.”

RELC, Vision Industries, and wind power technology company Envision will establish a joint venture in Saudi Arabia to manufacture and assemble wind turbine components, such as blades, with an estimated annual generation capacity of 4 gigawatts, PIF noted. Envision will hold 50 percent of the JV, RELC 40 percent, and Vision Industries the remaining 10 percent.

RELC and Vision Industries also agreed to set up a JV with Lumetech, a subsidiary of TCL Zhonghuan, the world’s second-largest supplier of monocrystalline silicon wafers, to jointly produce solar photovoltaic ingots and wafers with annual production sufficient to generate 20 GW of power in Saudi Arabia, according to PIF. RELD and Lumetech will each own 40 percent of the JV, with Vision Industries having 20 percent.

According to a statement released late yesterday by TCL Zhonghuan, the new plant in Saudi Arabia will be the world’s largest solar wafer plant outside China, with a total investment of USD2.1 billion.

Shares of TCL Zhonghuan [SHE: 002129] were trading up 2.4 percent at CNY8.83 (USD1.21) as of 2.00 p.m. in Shenzhen today.

Finally, RELC and Vision Industries partnered with Chinese solar module giant Jinko Solar to establish a JV for the localized manufacturing of PV cells and modules for high-efficiency solar generation with a total annual generation capacity of 10 GW, PIF added. RELC and Jinko Solar will each hold 40 percent of the JV, and Vision Industries the remainder.

The JV will have a total investment of SAR3.7 billion (USD990 million), Jinko Solar announced later yesterday.

Shares of Jinko Solar [SHA:688223] was traded at CNY7.59, up 2.99 percent at 2.25pm today, its New York listed parent. JinkoSolar[NYSE: JKS] closed 7.3 percent up at USD23.21 in New York yesterday.

RELC creates partnerships between leading global manufacturers and the Saudi private sector to meet growing local and export demand for renewable energy and secure and strengthen local supply chains, according to PIF’s website. It works toward achieving the most appropriate mix for electricity production and replacing liquid fuels, which is in line with Saudi efforts toward achieving Vision 2030 targets.

Vision Industries is a leading investor and developer of clean energy industrial projects and local supply chains. It was co-founded in 2021 by two major Saudi conglomerates -- Abunayyan Holding and Al Muhaidib Group -- aiming to build a new energy industry chain manufacturing capacity in Saudi Arabia to meet the demand for new energy in the Middle East and globally.

With the release of Saudi Vision 2030 government program in 2016, the country committed itself to diversify its economy away from relying solely on crude oil. Green energy, including solar and wind, is meant to account for half of the country’s energy mix by 2030 at 58.7 GWh, according to Vision 2030.

Another Chinese renewable energy company signed an agreement with a Saudi Arabian investment firm yesterday.

Photovoltaic power inverter giant Sungrow Power Supply announced yesterday that it will team up with Algihaz Holding to build the world’s largest energy storage project in Saudi Arabia, with a total capacity of 7.8 gigawatt-hours. The Chinese firm will provide key equipment and power management systems for the project.

Sungrow’s shares [SHE: 300274] surged 10 percent to CNY70.31 (USD9.68) yesterday and were trading up 0.3 percent as of 2.00 p.m. in Shenzhen today.

Editor: Futura Costaglione