Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) has issued a request for proposals (RFPs) for a 1.5GW solar PV plant in Abu Dhabi.
The RFPs was issued to 19 developers and consortia, from a pool of 27 companies and consortia that submitted submitted expressions of interest (EOI) for the Khazna project last September.
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Successful bids will involve the companies in the development, financing, construction, operation, maintenance and ownership of the plant and associated infrastructure, which is set to be built in the Al Khazna area of Abu Dhabi. EWEC will receive responses to the RFP until the third quarter of 2024.
The successful developer or developer consortium will own up to 40% of the entity, while the remaining equity will be held indirectly by the Abu Dhabi Government.
Moreover, the developer of the project will enter into a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with EWEC. The PPA will be structured as an energy purchase agreement, as EWEC will only pay for the net electrical energy supplied by the plant.
Once fully operational, the project, along with the Noor Abu Dhabi, Al Dhafra and Al Ajban solar PV projects, will increase EWEC’s total installed solar PV capacity to 5.5GW.
EWEC plans to produce about 50% of its electricity from renewable and clean energy sources by 2030. Last year, it announced that the UAE should increase its solar PV generation capacity sixfold to 7.3GW by 2030, due to a rise in power demand and growing supply chain insecurity following the Covid-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine.