Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower) has reached the world’s lowest price for solar electricity in the 1.5 GW solar tender launched by Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) for the Al Dhafra Solar PV project.
The winning bid was submitted by a consortium formed by French energy group EDF and Chinese solar company JinkoPower.
The tariff was set at 1.35 cents/kWh (USD) on a Levelised Electricity Cost (LEC) basis, which is approximately 44% lower than the tariff set three years ago on the ‘Noor Abu Dhabi’ project.
It will power nearly 160,000 households across the UAE, and will double the size of the 1.2 GW Noor Abu Dhabi solar plant, which began commercial operations in April 2019. Once operational, the
Al Dhafra Solar PV project will raise Abu Dhabi’s total solar power generation capacity to approximately 3.2 GW.
Jasim Husain Thabet, CEO and MD of ADPower, said: “Abu Dhabi has illustrated a remarkable step-change in the way the emirate generates power through an enhanced focus on sustainability and renewable technologies.”
“The water and electricity sector intends to play a critical role in meeting the target of having 50% of Abu Dhabi’s energy needs served from renewable and clean energy sources by 2030, as well as the reduction of the generation system’s average carbon intensity by more than 70%, compared to 2015. The Al Dhafra Solar PV project will play a critical role in delivering these ambitions, and we look forward to working with our partners to deliver this landmark project.”
The project will also reduce the emirate’s CO2 emissions by more than 3.6 million metric tons per year – equal to removing around 720,000 cars from the road. The Al Dhafra Solar PV project will include financing, construction, operation and maintenance of the solar plant, including installation of solar PV modules, inverters, connection to the transmission network and associated facilities.
Meanwhile, Othman Al Ali, CEO of EWEC, said: “The Al Dhafra Solar PV project represents a major milestone in EWEC’s ambitious and strategic shift towards clean power generation in the Emirate. The cost-competitiveness of the bids received is truly remarkable – positioning Abu Dhabi as one of the world’s most attractive markets for solar energy development and reinforcing the economic benefits now achievable through renewable technologies.”
“Securing such competitive tariffs on our energy projects is fundamental to support economic growth across all sectors in the UAE. We look forward to signing the Power Purchase Agreement and to delivering the project in Q2 2022,” he concluded.