Elsewedy Electric for Power Transmission & Distribution has successfully completed and handed over the El Saad Solar Plant, a 348.6 MWp utility-scale photovoltaic facility located approximately 85 kilometres east of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The project — the company’s first utility-scale solar installation in the Gulf region — was completed in just 16.5 months, compressing the original 24-month programme by nearly a third and establishing a new benchmark for EPC delivery in the Kingdom’s rapidly expanding renewable energy sector.

Sun, Sand, and 348.6 Megawatts: Inside the El Saad Solar Plant

The El Saad Solar Plant occupies a desert site in the Riyadh region, a location that combines high solar irradiance with the proximity to grid infrastructure required for a project of this scale. The installation encompasses advanced photovoltaic modules, inverters, and power conversion systems, all integrated with a purpose-built 33/132 kV high-voltage substation and a 600-metre overhead transmission line connecting the facility to the national grid.

Project Fact Sheet: El Saad Solar Plant

Project Name: El Saad Solar Plant

Location: ~85 km east of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Installed Capacity: 348.6 MWp

Project Type: Utility-scale ground-mounted photovoltaic

Grid Infrastructure: 33/132 kV substation; 600-metre overhead transmission line

Delivery Model: Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC)

Planned Construction Duration: 24 months

Actual Construction Duration: 16.5 months (delivered 7.5 months ahead of schedule)

Project Status: Completed; Provisional Acceptance Certificate (PAC) issued

Current Phase: Operations & Maintenance

Safety Record: Zero injuries; zero lost-time incidents

Significance: Elsewedy Electric’s first utility-scale PV project in the Gulf region

Project Team: El Saad Solar Plant

EPC Contractor: Elsewedy Electric for Power Transmission & Distribution

Development Partners: Jinko Power; Al Ghazala Energy Company Limited

Offtaker: Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC)

Independent Consultant: OCA Global

Transformer Supplier: Elsewedy Transformers

Electrical Components: Alfanar

High-Voltage Systems: Siemens Energy

Protection & Control Systems: Schneider Electric Saudi Arabia

The plant has now entered its operations and maintenance phase following the issuance of the Provisional Acceptance Certificate (PAC), the formal milestone confirming that the facility meets all performance and technical standards agreed with the client. Grid integration at high voltage has been completed, with ongoing O&M services in place to ensure long-term operational efficiency and grid stability. The El Saad project was executed under a fully integrated engineering, procurement, and construction model — a delivery approach that consolidated design, equipment sourcing, international logistics, customs clearance, and on-site construction under a single contractual framework. Elsewedy Electric has noted that the project was executed without injuries or lost-time incidents, reflecting disciplined adherence to occupational health and safety standards throughout its desert construction environment.

The Partnership Behind Saudi Arabia’s Newest Solar Asset

The El Saad Solar Plant was developed through a tripartite partnership, with Elsewedy Electric serving as EPC contractor alongside Jinko Power and Al Ghazala Energy Company Limited. The Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) — the Kingdom’s central authority for renewable energy offtake — will purchase the plant’s output under a long-term power purchase arrangement, providing the revenue certainty that underpins the project’s investment case.

Several major international technology partners contributed to the facility’s technical execution. Elsewedy Transformers supplied transformer equipment; Alfanar, the Saudi industrial and energy conglomerate, contributed electrical components; Siemens Energy provided high-voltage systems; and Schneider Electric Saudi Arabia delivered protection and control infrastructure. OCA Global served as independent consultant on the project. The combination of an Egyptian EPC lead, a Chinese solar developer, a Saudi energy company, and a European technology supply chain reflects the increasingly multinational character of large-scale renewable energy projects across the Middle East — where global procurement networks are essential to delivering at the speed and cost that competitive tender environments demand.

7.5 Months Faster: What the Accelerated Delivery Means for Elsewedy and the Region

The compression of the build timeline from 24 months to 16.5 months is commercially and strategically significant well beyond a single project. In Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy procurement framework — overseen by SPPC and shaped by Vision 2030’s clean energy targets — schedule performance is a critical differentiator for EPC contractors competing for a rapidly growing pipeline of utility-scale awards. Delivering 7.5 months ahead of plan demonstrates the logistical depth required to manage international equipment procurement across multiple continents while simultaneously mobilising a large construction workforce in a challenging desert environment. That same combination of speed, scale, and desert-hardened engineering is now being applied across Saudi Arabia’s broader energy storage buildout, with 4GWh of battery energy storage projects underway in Tabuk and Hail provinces — one of the largest BESS deployments in the Middle East — reinforcing the Kingdom’s position as a proving ground for utility-scale clean energy infrastructure at pace.

Elsewedy Electric also embedded local human capital development directly into the project’s execution. Vocational training programmes, technical workshops for Saudi engineers, and operational training initiatives were delivered throughout the build phase — supporting the Kingdom’s broader Saudisation agenda, which requires renewable energy projects to contribute to workforce localisation alongside their generation targets. The completion of El Saad enters the company’s Gulf portfolio at a moment when Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy programme is scaling faster than almost anywhere in the world, with SPPC running successive competitive tender rounds and the country targeting 50% renewable electricity generation by 2030.

Elsewedy’s Gulf Foothold and Saudi Arabia’s Solar Surge in Regional Context

The El Saad plant is more than a project completion — it is a market entry. Elsewedy Electric, founded in Egypt and one of the leading industrial and energy conglomerates in the Arab world, has historically concentrated its renewable energy EPC activity in North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, where it has built an extensive portfolio across Egypt, Ethiopia, and beyond. The Gulf, with its accelerating solar ambitions and deep-pocketed state procurement programmes, represents the logical next frontier for a company of Elsewedy’s scale and capability, and El Saad establishes the firm’s Gulf credentials with a reference project of genuine utility-scale significance.

Saudi Arabia’s solar programme is one of the most consequential in the world right now. The Kingdom added multiple gigawatts of solar capacity in 2024 and 2025, with landmark projects including the Sudair Solar Farm (1.5 GW) and the Al-Shuaibah complex (1.5 GW Phase 1) redefining what is achievable in desert PV construction. Against this backdrop, the 348.6 MWp El Saad plant fits into an increasingly dense national renewables landscape, but its 16.5-month delivery timeline and zero-incident safety record give it a distinct operational story. For the broader EPC market in the region — where contractors from Egypt, China, Spain, South Korea, and beyond compete for SPPC tenders — Elsewedy’s performance at El Saad will sharpen the competitive conversation about which firms can genuinely deliver at Gulf speed and Gulf scale.