meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

UAE utilities ramp up capacity procurement

4 October 2024

Abu Dhabi state utility Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) invited bids for contracts to develop three independent power producer (IPP) projects in rapid succession in the third quarter of 2024.

These projects comprise the 2,500GW Taweelah C combined-cycle gas turbine plant, the 1,500MW Madinat Zayed open-cycle gas turbine project and the 400MW battery energy storage system to be located in Al-Bihouth and Madinat Zayed.

They bring the number of Ewec’s electricity generation IPP projects currently under tender to four, in addition to the 1,500MW Al-Khazna solar photovoltaic (PV) IPP, which it tendered in April.

Ewec also issued the expression of interest notice on 1 October for a contract to develop the emirate’s fifth solar PV IPP, the 1,500MW Al-Zarraf project.

This robust project pipeline implies that the offtaker and developers, investors and contractors bidding for these projects have entered a hectic period compared to the past few years.

Abu Dhabi’s growing IPP pipeline will compete with Saudi Arabia’s equally robust pipeline for developers’ and contractors’ resources over the near to medium term as both states endeavour to meet their 2030 decarbonisation targets.

Abu Dhabi plans to procure 1,400MW of renewable energy capacity annually between 2027 and 2037 and to meet more than 50% of the emirate’s electricity demand from renewable and clean energy sources by 2030. This is expected to rise to 60% by 2035.

It also previously stated that it expects to reach a renewable energy installed capacity of 7,500MW by 2030, or three times its current capacity.

The expiry of power-purchase agreements for several generation assets over the next couple of years and the likelihood of these contracts not being extended also drive Abu Dhabi’s procurement programme for gas-fired capacity.

Dubai has a slightly different strategy. Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) has abandoned any plans to procure additional gas-fired capacity in the foreseeable future.

Dubai’s future generation projects will be focused on the Mohammed Bin Rashid Solar Park, which is expected to reach an installed capacity of 5,000MW by 2030.

So far, Dewa has awarded contracts for the first six phases of the project, which have a total combined capacity of 4,600MW.

Further phases are being planned, with the state utility expected to appoint transaction advisers for phase seven, for which the capacity has not yet been made public, next year.

“The volume of projects coming to the market is almost unprecedented,” notes an industry source, who expects that utility developers are starting to be selective when bidding for new contracts regardless of the energy source.

Nuclear capacity

Notably, the UAE’s Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation announced that the fourth reactor, or Unit 4, of the Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi reached commercial operations in early September.

It marks the completion of the $43bn, 5,600MW Barakah 1 project, which was jointly implemented by the UAE’s Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) and South Korea’s Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco).

The entire plant reached full commercial operations approximately 16 years after Abu Dhabi first announced the project in 2008 and 12 years after construction works commenced on Unit 1.

The completion of Barakah 1 also implies that the project’s next phase is likely to proceed in earnest.

Hamad Alkaabi, the UAE’s permanent representative to the Austria-based International Atomic Energy Agency, said in July that the UAE government is considering initiating the tendering process for its next nuclear power plant this year.

Apart from the final tendering process decision, the market is also keen to know who will be invited to bid or submit proposals for the contract to implement the nuclear power facility’s next phase.

Washington and Abu Dhabi entered into the bilateral 123 Agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation in 2009, which could determine to a large extent which companies or countries will be invited to participate in the project’s next phase.

What the rush is about

Ewec has made clear that expiring generation capacities and the need for gas-fired baseload as more renewable energy enters the UAE electricity grid underpin its ambitious capacity procurement pipeline.

Other factors influencing future capacity procurement plans include the UAE’s multibillion-dollar national industrialisation strategy. This strategy involves expanding downstream industries, including clean hydrogen production for both domestic and export use, potentially resulting in an exponential increase in peak demand.

This is in addition to the need to decarbonise while expanding the production of hard-to-abate sectors such as the oil and gas, steel and aluminium industries.

In addition to these demand sources, many believe the UAE’s 2031 National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy is a major contributor to Abu Dhabi’s ongoing generation capacity buildout.

“They need to build power-hungry data centres to support their AI strategy,” notes an executive with an international infrastructure investment firm with offices in Dubai.

The UAE’s AI strategy encompasses deploying AI in priority sectors and “providing the data and infrastructure essential to become a test bed for AI”.

Meeting these and the other stated objectives, in addition to the data sovereignty regulations, has started driving a boom in data centre construction across the UAE.

State-backed enterprises, utilities, banks, logistics, tourism and service industries, and real estate companies have launched or are expected to launch AI programmes to boost productivity and efficiency, in line with the UAE’s 2050 net-zero target and circular carbon economy strategy.

These span industry-specific applications ranging from chatbots and small-language models to generative AI and large-language models, the latter of which require significant data bandwidth and consume enormous amounts of energy.

AI applications in defence and national security are also presumed to be a major component of the overall AI plan. 

“The AI programme is progressing,” notes an Abu Dhabi-based utility executive, confirming a plan to procure 5,000MW of AI-dedicated thermal capacity.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/12650258/main.gif
Jennifer Aguinaldo

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • SPPC moves Dawadmi wind bid deadline

    22 May 2025

     

    Saudi Arabia’s principal buyer, Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC), has extended the bid deadline for the contract to develop a wind independent power project (IPP) under the sixth round of Saudi Arabia’s National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP).

    MEED reported in March that the prequalified developers had formed consortiums and were preparing their proposals for the contract, the fifth wind IPP to be tendered under the NREP.

    SPPC initially expected to receive bids by 15 May, but the deadline has since been extended to 23 June, according to industry sources.

    The new deadline is likely to be extended again, however, one of the sources told MEED.

    The consortiums that have been formed and will likely bid for the contract include teams led separately by UAE-based Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) and French firms Engie and EDF Renewables, sources said.

    MEED understands that Beijing-based PowerChina and one of its subsidiaries are part of separate bidding consortiums. 

    Located in Riyadh, the Dawadmi wind IPP will have a capacity of 1,500MW. It is the only wind scheme and the fifth package under round six of the the NREP.

    Four solar photovoltaic (PV) schemes, with a total combined capacity of 3,000MW, comprise the rest of the round six projects. 

    In addition to the firms cited above, SPPC prequalified the following companies to bid as managing and technical members of consortiums bidding for the contract:

    • Marubeni Corporation (Japan)
    • Sembcorp Utilities (Singapore)
    • Sumitomo Corporation (Japan)
    • Total Energies Renewables (France)
    • Goldwind Science & Technology (China)
    • Alfanar Company
    • SPIC Huanghe Hydropower Development

    The following eight companies were prequalified to bid as managing members:

    • Al-Jomaih Energy & Water (local)
    • Jinko Power (Hong Kong)
    • Saudi Electricity Company (local)
    • China Power Engineering Consulting Group International Engineering Company (China)
    • Posco International Corporation (South Korea)
    • Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco, South Korea)
    • Nareva Holding (Morocco)
    • Jera (Japan)

    Another firm, the local Nesma Renewable Company, has been prequalified as a technical member.

    In addition to the Dawadmi wind IPP, the following schemes comprise round six of the NREP:

    • 1,400MW Najran solar PV IPP (Najran)
    • 600MW Samtah solar PV IPP (Jizan)
    • 600MW Al-Darb solar PV IPP (Jizan)
    • 400MW Al-Sufun solar PV IPP (Hail)

    These schemes take the total capacity of solar and wind projects publicly tendered by SPPC to almost 15,000MW.

    SPPC is responsible for the pre-development, tendering and subsequent offtaking of the energy from the projects.

    US/India-based Synergy Consulting is providing financial advisory services to SPPC for the NREP sixth-round tender. Germany’s Fichtner Consulting and US-headquartered CMS are providing technical and legal consultancy services, respectively.

    The previous wind farms that SPPC has tendered include the 400MW Dumat Al-Jandal wind IPP, which is operational.

    Last year, SPPC signed the power-purchase agreements with Japan’s Marubeni Corporation for the contracts to develop and operate the 600MW Al-Ghat and 500MW Waad Al-Shamal wind IPPs. The projects reached financial close in November.

    The third wind IPP, a 750MW scheme in Yanbu, is undergoing review.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13931337/main.jpg
    Jennifer Aguinaldo
  • Local firm bids low for Kuwait grid contract

    22 May 2025

    Local contracting firm Power Grid Company has submitted a low bid of KD48.67m ($158.6m) for a contract to supply and install a 400-kilovolt (kV) overhead transmission line (OHTL) in Kuwait.

    The project will link a substation in Shagaya to a substation in Subiya.

    The two other bidders for the contract are the Kuwaiti branch of India-headquartered Larsen & Toubro, which offered KD65.9m, and Al-Khobar-based National Contracting Company, which offered KD57.7m.

    Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity & Renewable Energy (MEWRE) tendered the contract in October last year.

    The planned OHTL network will link the solar energy transformer station at Shagaya to the Subiya power station, also known as SWPS-2.

    Kuwait plans to expand its renewable energy capacity through a multi-phased solar programme in Shagaya.

    MEWRE, through the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (Kapp), prequalified six consortiums and companies to bid for the contract to develop the Al-Dibdibah power and Al-Shagaya renewable energy phase three, zone one project in August last year.

    The tender for the 1,100MW solar independent power project has yet to be issued.

    MEWRE, through Kapp, recently invited interested firms to prequalify for a contract to develop zone two of the renewable energy complex's third phase.

    The zone two solar photovoltaic project will have a net capacity of 500MW. Utility developers are expected to submit their statements of qualifications by 24 July.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13931091/main0058.jpg
    Jennifer Aguinaldo
  • GE Vernova confirms $14.2bn Saudi initiatives

    22 May 2025

    US-based energy equipment manufacturer GE Vernova announced initiatives worth up to $14.2bn in Saudi Arabia, which coincided with US President Donald Trump’s state visit to the kingdom last week.

    The initiatives aim to “accelerate Saudi Arabia’s energy transition with US technology and expertise”, the firm said.

    The announcements include up to $2bn in backlog or on a reservation agreement as of the first quarter of 2025, with future contracts and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for agreements spanning across the next four years.

    Among the collaborations and initiatives is a deal between Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) and GE Vernova for the supply of US-made gas turbines, synchronous condensers and balance of plant equipment.

    The equipment deal will support grid stability by providing voltage regulation, reactive power and system strength, supplying inertia to maintain reliable operations as more variable renewable energy is integrated into the system. The deal with SEC also includes capital parts, maintenance and repair services.

    Saudi Arabia's principal buyer, Saudi Power Procurement Company, and GE Vernova are understood to have entered into several MoUs for the supply of advanced power generation equipment and services for future projects; the commercialisation of carbon capture technologies; and training and investments in power sector research and development activities, manufacturing and repairs.

    Saudi utility developer Acwa Power and GE Vernova also signed framework agreements to collaborate on identifying and exploring potential opportunities to supply high-efficiency gas turbines and electrification equipment for future projects in Saudi Arabia. 

    State-backed Saudi Aramco and GE Vernova also announced collaborations to provide maintenance services, repairs and spare parts to support the operations of several power plants in the kingdom.

    Scott Strazik, chief executive of GE Vernova, said that deploying “world-class technology” will help deepen the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia, advance energy security and strengthen both nations' economic prosperity and competitiveness.

    GE Vernova, or GE, is understood to have been operating in Saudi Arabia for 90 years, with a power generation installed capacity of about 50GW in the kingdom running on its gas turbines.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13931061/main2152.jpg
    Jennifer Aguinaldo
  • May deadline for King Salman International airport terminals

    22 May 2025

     

    King Salman International Airport Development Company (KSIADC), which is backed by Saudi sovereign wealth vehicle the Public Investment Fund, has allowed firms until 28 May to submit proposals for a contract to develop the first phase of Terminal 6 and the Iconic Terminal at King Salman International airport (KSIA) in Riyadh.

    The tender notice was issued on 17 April. The previous bid submission deadline was 15 May.

    The client plans to deliver the package on an early contractor involvement (ECI) basis.

    The ECI process requires selected contractors to submit methodologies for the project and a design proposal.

    Earlier in May, MEED reported that US firm Bechtel Corporation had been appointed as the delivery partner for the terminals at KSIA in Riyadh.

    Bechtel will manage the delivery of three new terminals, including the terminal for commercial carriers, Terminal 6 for low-cost carriers and a new private aviation terminal with hangars.

    This was followed by an announcement by another US-based firm, Parsons Corporation, confirming its appointment as the delivery partner for the airside and landside packages at KSIA.

    In February, MEED exclusively reported that KSIADC had received prequalification statements from firms on 28 January for the project.

    The client prequalified firms in September 2024 for the main engineering, procurement and construction packages; early and enabling works; specialist systems and integration; materials and equipment; engineering and design; professional services; health, safety, security, environment and wellbeing services; modular installation and prefabrication; environmental, social and governance services; local content; and other services.

    The entire scheme is divided into eight assets. These are:

    • Iconic Terminal
    • Terminal 6
    • Private aviation terminal 
    • Central runway and temporary apron
    • Hangars
    • Landside transport
    • Cargo buildings
    • Real estate

    In August last year, KSIADC confirmed that it had signed up several architectural and design firms for the various elements of the project.

    KSIADC said that UK-based Foster+Partners will design the airport’s masterplan, including the terminals, six runways and a multi-asset real estate area.

    US-based engineering firm Jacobs will provide specialist consultancy services for the masterplan and the design of the new runways.

    The client also confirmed the appointment of UK-based engineering firm Mace for the delivery partner role on the project.

    The airspace design consultancy contract was awarded to local firm Nera.

    Project scale

    The project covers an area of about 57 square kilometres (sq km), allowing for six parallel runways, and will include the existing terminals at King Khalid International airport. It will also include 12 sq km of airport support facilities, residential and recreational facilities, retail outlets and other logistics real estate.

    If the project is completed on time in 2030, it will become the world’s largest operating airport in terms of passenger capacity, according to UK analytics firm GlobalData.

    The airport aims to accommodate up to 120 million passengers by 2030 and 185 million by 2050. The goal for cargo is to process 3.5 million tonnes a year by 2050.

    Saudi Arabia plans to invest $100bn in its aviation sector. Riyadh’s Saudi Aviation Strategy, announced by the General Authority of Civil Aviation, aims to triple Saudi Arabia’s annual passenger traffic to 330 million travellers by 2030.

    It also aims to increase air cargo traffic to 4.5 million tonnes and raise the country’s total air connections to more than 250 destinations. 

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13930956/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Petrofac oil bid in Kuwait is double proposed budget

    22 May 2025

     

    The low bid submitted by UK-based engineering company Petrofac for the Kuwaiti oil project focused on the installation of a separation gathering centre (SGC) known as SGC-2 has come in at more than double the project’s proposed budget, according to industry sources.

    Petrofac submitted a bid of KD422.45m ($1.37bn) and the provisional budget for the project is KD207m ($670.2m), according to industry sources.

    Petrofac’s bid beat that of India-based Larsen & Toubro, which was the only other bidder with a price of KD441.07m.

    The project is located in the eastern region of Kuwait referred to as EK-2 and its scope also includes debottlenecking work, in addition to the installation of the main units.

    The client on the project is state-owned upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company.

    When the project was originally tendered in June 2024, the following companies were prequalified to bid:

    • Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company (South Korea)
    • Samsung Engineering (South Korea)
    • Saipem (Italy)
    • Sinopec Luoyang Engineering Company (China)
    • Sinopec Engineering Incorporation (China)
    • Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain)
    • Larsen & Toubro (India)
    • Daewoo Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
    • Petrofac International (UK)
    • GS Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
    Petrofac’s problems

    Two weeks ago, Petrofac’s shares on the London Stock Exchange were temporarily suspended after the beleaguered engineering and construction contractor failed to publish its 2024 results on time.

    This suspension was enacted at the same time that Wood, another engineering and construction company, was also forced to suspend trading in its stock because it was unable to publish its annual report by 30 April.

    In March, Petrofac said that it would defer publication of its 2024 results amid its long-running restructuring process.

    Earlier this month, Petrofac received formal approval from the High Court of England & Wales to implement its restructuring plan.

    The company, which has billions of dollars-worth of projects in the Middle East and North Africa region, has said that the approved plan will unlock $355m in new funding for its operations.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13930355/main.gif
    Wil Crisp