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ENERGY-
The Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) is now receiving requests for qualifications for six renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 5.3 GW, according to a LinkedIn statement. The projects fall under the 7th round of the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP). The submission deadline was not disclosed.
The details: Solar projects include the 1.4 GW Tabrjal project, the 600 MW Mawqaq project, the 600 MW Tathleeth project, and the 500 MW South Al-Ula project. Meanwhile, wind projects include the 1.3 GW Bilghah plant and the 900 MW Shagran project.
REMEMBER- NREP aims to generate 50% of its electricity from renewables by the decade’s end. SPPC tendered 43.2 GW of renewable energy projects before this round, signing power purchase agreements for projects totaling 38.7 GW. A total capacity of 10.2 GW is already connected to the national grid, with that level expected to reach 12.7 GW by the end of this year and 20 GW by late 2026.
EXPANSION-
#1- Egypt-based edtech startup Farid Academy launched its operations in the Kingdom with a new central office in Riyadh, marking its first expansion outside Egypt, according to a press release. The company also signed a three-year, SAR 4.5 mn partnership with the Amad Association for Human Capacity Development.
About Farid Academy: Founded by Mahmoud Hussein (LinkedIn) in 2024, the academy offers live one-on-one sessions on mental health and character development for Arab children aged 3 to 18, and trains youth and graduates to become certified coaches in its educational and psychological methodology.
REMEMBER- Saudi businesswoman Amal bin Abdulaziz Al Ajlan invested USD 250k in Farid in a pre-seed funding round back in September 2024 to fuel Farid’s expansion into the Kingdom and the UAE, in addition to helping it develop new content, hire new talents, and secure partnerships with schools and universities.
#2- US-based data analytics platform Cloudera will set up an office in the Kingdom by early 2026 to comply with the regional headquarters program’s requirement for vendors on large-scale projects and to support clients with national data and cloud regulation, it said in a press release (pdf) yesterday. The company plans to hire and train local staff for the new office.
About Cloudera: Cloudera is a data and AI platform that unifies cloud, data centers, and edge environments on an open-source foundation. The company has been serving customers in Saudi Arabia for over six years across several sectors, including telecommunications, banking, energy, and government.
