Emirates Water and Electrical energy Firm (EWEC), the primary utility infrastructure firm serving the Abu Dhabi region in the UAE with power and water, has issued a request for proposal (RFP) to 19 corporations and consortiums for a 1.5GW solar project to serve the needs of the city.
To be located at Al Ajban , the planned project will take Abu Dhabi’s total solar capacity to 4GW, following the Noor Abu Dhabi and Al Dhafra installations. The Noor Abu Dhabi, among the world’s largest single-site solar power plant, and Al Dhafra Solar PV are already vying to be the largest single site solar plants worldwide. The Al Ajban Solar PV, which will be similar in size and capacity output to Al Dhafra Solar PV, Abu Dhabi and the UAE will have the among the three largest, solar power plants worldwide. The 1.5GW Ajban project is expected to be completed by 2025.
The full turnkey project will involve the winning developer holding a 40% stake in the project, with the rest being held by other Abu Dhabi entities including EWEC.
The EWEC tender follows a shortlisting process where after 43 corporations expressed interest in participating through an Expression of Interest , 19 were shortlisted for participation in the tender. The detailed RFP offers a 25 year PPA for the winning developers.
Solar bid prices in the region have been very low previously, thanks to the significant infrastructure support provided by the tendering entities. It is safe to expect a strong and very aggressive bidding for this tender too, as the UAE market offers a very safe, high performance market for most developers.
