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Abu Dhabi to award Al-Ajban solar contract

4 January 2024

Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) is expected to award the contract to develop Abu Dhabi’s third utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) independent power project (IPP) within a few weeks, according to a source close to the project.

In August last year, MEED reported that Ewec held one-on-one clarification meetings with the teams that submitted proposals for the contract to develop the 1,500MW Al-Ajban solar photovoltaic (PV) IPP.

A team led by French utility developer EDF submitted the lowest bid for the contract, as MEED reported in July 2023.

The team submitted a levelised electricity cost of 5.1921 fils a kilowatt-hour (kWh) or about 1.413 $cents/kWh.

Japan’s Marubeni submitted the second-lowest bid of 5.3577 fils/kWh.

According to industry sources, the companies that submitted proposals for the contract include:

  • EDF (France) / Korea Western Power Company (Kowepo, South Korea): 5.1921 fils/kWh
  • Marubeni Corporation (Japan): 5.3577 fils/kWh
  • Jera (Japan) / Jinko Power (China): 5.40597 fils/kWh
  • Acwa Power (Saudi Arabia): 6.14432 fils/kWh

Ewec requested proposals for the contract in January 2023 and received bids in late June.

It qualified 19 companies that could bid for the contract in September 2022.

Delivering goals

The Al-Ajban project, similar to the 1,584MW Al-Dhafra solar IPP, which was inaugurated in November,  and the operational 935MW Noor Abu Dhabi plant, supports the UAE Energy Strategy 2050 and the UAE Net-Zero by 2050 strategic initiative.

The Al-Ajban solar PV scheme is expected to generate enough electricity for about 160,000 homes across the UAE and to reduce Abu Dhabi’s carbon dioxide emissions by more than 2.4 million metric tonnes annually.

Ewec aims to install 16GW of solar PV capacity by 2036, the firm’s executive director for strategy and planning, Bruce Smith, said in March last year.

The plan implies procuring about 1.5GW of capacity annually over the next 10 years.

Over the intervening period ending in 2030, Ewec envisages having an additional 5GW of solar capacity to reach a total solar installed capacity of 7.3GW by 2030.

Smith said Ewec expects its first battery energy storage system to come online in the late 2020s, to enable optimum use of renewable energy captured during daytime at times when the solar PV fleets do not produce energy.

The UAE published its updated national energy strategy in July last year, which included a plan to triple the nationwide renewable energy capacity to 19GW by 2030.

The total installed renewable energy capacity between Ewec and Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) sits at 5.5GW as of this month.

Construction work could begin shortly for the 1,800MW sixth phase of Dubai's Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park.  

Photo: Ewec/Al-Dhafra solar IPP

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11411267/main.jpg
Jennifer Aguinaldo

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