Solar module factory with 1.2 GW capacity inaugurated in Saudi Arabia

Saudi electric company Bin Omairah Holding has commissioned a 1.2 GW solar module assembly factory located in the industrial district of Tabuk, the capital city of the Tabuk Region in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

“The new manufacturing facility will produce monocrystalline PERC modules,” the company’s CEO, Fahad Bin Omairah, told pv magazine. “We are targeting markets such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the United States, Europe and Africa.”

The factory will manufacture, in particular, M3 full cell panels, M10 half-cut products, and M12 modules with a 1/3 cut design. “Their nominal power range from 320 to 800 W,” Bin Omairah further explained.

The total investment in the new facility was SAR 700 million ($186.9 million). “This factory is aimed at boosting investments in solar energy and diversifying energy sources in our country, in addition to enabling integration with relevant government agencies and the private sector to support the creation of a domestic renewable energy industry,” Osama bin Abdulaziz Al-Zamil, Saudi Arabia’s deputy minister of industry and mineral resources, said. 

“This represents a key milestone from Saudi investment showing its commitment to the solar industry, not only for itself but also, for the neighboring markets,” Ahmed S. Nada, president of the Middle East Solar Industry Association, told pv magazine. “Aligned with Vision 2030 of investing in future sustainable technologies, the Saudi factory is also a big step for local content while developing young Saudi talent and knowledge on solar industry manufacturing.”

The production equipment for the factory was supplied by Spanish PV equipment provider Mondragon Assembly.