ABU DHABI, UAE – Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) has received bids from ACWA Power, EDF Renewables, Marubeni Corporation, and a consortium consisting of Jinko Power and JERA, for the development of the 1,500MW Al Ajban solar photovoltaic (PV) Independent Power Project (IPP).
EWEC deals in planning, purchasing, and supply of water and electricity across the UAE.
Al Ajban Solar PV is EWEC’s third world-leading solar power project, making Abu Dhabi home to three of the world’s largest single-site solar power plants.
Once commercially operational, the project will generate enough electricity to power approximately 160,000 homes across the UAE, and is expected to reduce Abu Dhabi’s CO2 emissions by up to 2.4 million tonnes per year, a statement issued by EWEC said.
The plant will also raise EWEC’s total solar power capacity to approximately 4 gigawatts (GW).
The Al Ajban Solar PV project plays a pivotal role in enabling EWEC to achieve its strategic plans of raising Abu Dhabi’s solar power generation capacity to 7.3GW by 2030, and supplying 60 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s total power demand from renewable and clean energy sources by 2035.
Othman Al Ali, Chief Executive Officer of EWEC, said, “Al Ajban Solar PV demonstrates EWEC’s accumulative expertise in commissioning and deploying world-leading innovative, emission-free utility projects to secure and despatch sustainable and reliable power supply across the UAE.”
He said, “EWEC’s renewable energy projects are further strengthening the UAE’s position as a global leader and role model in planning and implementing strategic tangible actions to realise long term socio-economic and sustainability objectives.”
He added, “Receiving these competitive bids demonstrates our expertise in commissioning world-leading renewable energy projects that attract internationally renowned companies to collaborate on achieving the UAE’s carbon-neutral future.”
EWEC received 43 Expressions of Interest from potential bidding companies and consortiums, with 19 qualifying for the Request for Proposals (RFP) stage after submitting Statements of Qualification.
Moving forward, the proposals will undergo a detailed technical and commercial evaluation process to select the best proposal.
The awarding announcement and the execution of the Power Purchase Agreement are expected to take place by Q4 2023, the statement added.