The Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) has announced a request for qualification (RFQ) for 3 GW of solar capacity across four projects as part of the sixth round of the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP). Key details include:

Projects:

1.4 GW (AC) facility near Hima, Najran province

600 MW (AC) plant near Ad Darb, Jizan province

600 MW (AC) project in Jazan

400 MW (AC) project near Al Sufun, Hail province

Developer Requirements: Projects must be developed and built on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis.

Pre-Qualification Deadline: October 15, 2024

This is a significant opportunity for developers looking to expand their footprint in Saudi Arabia's renewable energy sector. For further insights, consider attending the SunRise Arabia Clean Energy Conference on February 19, 2025.

Source: https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/09/24/saudi-arabia-launches-3-gw-solar-tender/

A groundbreaking open-source AI video generator, Pyramid Flow, has been launched this week, enabling users to create high-quality video clips up to 10 seconds long. Developed by a collaboration of researchers from Peking University and Kuaishou Technology, Pyramid Flow uses a unique pyramidal flow matching technique to generate videos efficiently, starting with low resolutions and saving full resolution for the final output.

💡 Key Features:

🌟 Generates a 5-second, 384p video in just 56 seconds.

Produces videos at 768p resolution and 24 frames per second.

Available for commercial use under the MIT License.

🔍 Training Data: Trained on around 10 million videos from well-known datasets, including LAION-5B and WebVid-10M, Pyramid Flow offers significant efficiency gains in video generation.

⚖️ Challenges: The model faces scrutiny over potential copyright issues with its training data and lacks some advanced features offered by proprietary competitors like Runway.

Pyramid Flow aims to disrupt the AI video market, providing a flexible and accessible tool for developers and creators alike! 🌟

Framework Contract for District Heating Systems (Rahmenvertrag Fernwärme)

A public procurement opportunity is available for qualified contractors to engage in the construction, maintenance, and repair of district heating systems within Potsdam, Germany. The contract will be awarded through a competitive, two-stage negotiation process. The successful bidders will be contracted to provide these services for a period of 24 months, starting from January 1, 2025.

Scope of Work:

The contract involves new construction, maintenance, and emergency repairs in the district heating network, including civil engineering and surface work. The work must comply with relevant guidelines and safety regulations, particularly those concerning district heating systems.

Key Details:

• Location: Potsdam, Germany, with operations extending up to 50 km from the city.

• Duration: 2 years (Starting January 1, 2025).

• Procedure: Negotiated procedure with prior publication, competitive with negotiation.

• Submission Requirements: Contractors must demonstrate certification according to relevant standards (e.g., FW 601, FW 432, FW 434) and ensure that all welding and construction work adheres to specified quality and safety requirements.

• Selection Process: The process includes a two-stage tender procedure:

1. Initial Stage: Submission of unpriced specifications and evaluation of suitability criteria.

2. Negotiation Stage: Price negotiation based on a median price list, with contracts awarded based on the most favorable pricing.

• Estimated Duration: 24 months.

• Languages: All documents and submissions must be in German.

• Electronic Submission Required: Yes.

• Deadline for Requests to Participate: September 27, 2024, at 10:00 AM (UTC+2).

• Additional Information Requests Deadline: September 20, 2024.

Award Criteria:

Contracts will be awarded based on a competitive pricing strategy, where bids will be ranked according to the most favorable offer.