France's EDF Renewables and its consortium partner, China’s SPIC Huanghe Hydropower Development Company, have signed the power-purchase agreements (PPAs) with the principal buyer, Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC), for two solar photovoltaic (PV) projects with a total combined capacity of 1,400MW in Saudi Arabia.

EDF Renewables and SPIC successfully bid for the contracts to develop and operate the 1,000MW Al-Masaa solar independent power producer (IPP) and the 400MW Al-Henakiyah 2 solar IPP projects earlier this year.

The projects are estimated to cost $850m.

The 400MW Al-Henakiyah 2 solar IPP is located 36 kilometres southeast of Al-Henakiyah town in Medina while the 1,000MW Al-Masaa project is located in Dharghat town in Hail province.

The consortium will develop, build, own and operate the projects as part of a 25-year agreement with SPPC.

The signing of the PPAs between Beatrice Buffon, EDF Group vice-president, International Division, and chairwoman and CEO of EDF Renewables, and Mazin Albahkali, SPPC chief executive, coincided with the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron in Riyadh.

In addition to Macron, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud, Saudi Commerce Minister Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, and French Minister of Ecological Transition, Energy, Climate and Risk Prevention, Agnes Pannier-Runacher witnessed the signing of the PPAs.

EDF said once operational, both projects are expected to power more than 240,000 homes a year and displace more than 2.7 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.

The Al-Masaa and Al-Henakiyah solar IPPs were tendered earlier this year under the fifth procurement round of Saudi Arabia's National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP).