The plant will be built adjacent to the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) on the outskirts of Riyadh, according to a company statement.

Phoenix Solar is to work alongside Naizak Global Engineering Systems in designing, building and connecting the ground-mounted system. A completion date of September 2011 has been penciled in.

Phoenix Solar’s principal is M R Khathlan (MRK), a Saudi company, which will design and build the electricity and water supply of KAPSARC in its capacity as general contractor,

“The solar market in the Gulf region is still in its infancy. There is, however, a huge potential for solar power plants in Saudi Arabia. We are delighted to be able to build the largest ground-mounted plant in Saudi Arabia and will use our know-how to support the introduction of renewable energies into Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region to the best of our ability,” said Phoenix Solar general manager Klaus Fried.

Last year, Phoenix Solar installed a PV testing field designed to analyze different module technologies at Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran.

And the successful completion of this project helped it sway Saudi Aramco during the international tender for the Riyadh park.

KAPSARC itself is the largest energy research center in the world.

The construction of KAPSARC is geared toward achieving LEED Platinum certification.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), developed by the US Green Building Council, is a system, which rates green building and sets standards for sustainable building.

The photovoltaic project was awarded through an international bidding procedure.

Alongside Phoenix Solar’s cutting-edge competence in power plant construction and the presence of the company in the Gulf region, a key factor for winning the contract was the experience gathered by Phoenix Solar from the test facility, said the company statement.