Saudi Arabia and Iraq move forward on electricity interconnection project
The completion of this project comes within the framework of Saudi Vision 2030 and its executive programs, which focuses on investing in the Kingdom’s strategic location
Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the start of 2022 which outlined an electricity interconnection between Saudi Arabia and Iraq, the two countries have now signed an executive report that outlines the project’s principles.
The 435km electrical interconnection will link Arar in northern Saudi Arabia to Yusufiya near Baghdad with a total capacity of 1,000MW and a voltage of 400kV. The project is expected to contribute to the reliability of the electrical networks in the two countries, achieving economic savings, supporting the integration of the networks into renewable energy, and achieving optimal investments in electricity generation projects.
In October 2021, Masdar inked a strategic agreement to develop five solar PV projects in Iraq.
The event was attended by Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman who praised the role of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in accelerating the electricity connection with Iraq, which comes as confirmation of the continuous cooperation in all fields according to the Saudi Gazette.
The completion of this project is said to fall within the framework of Vision 2030 and its executive programs, which focuses on investing in the Kingdom’s strategic location. The project also constitutes a step to establish a regional market for electricity trade and support the two countries’ participation.
In October 2021, the Kingdom and Egypt signed off $1.8bn worth of contracts with consortiums to connect the nations’ power grids. In May 2022, SNC-Lavalin won a four-year contract for the Saudi-Egypt power project which will allow the two countries to exchange up to 3GW of electricity at peak times.
