Leading international law firm Clifford Chance said it had been instrumental in the financial closing for the 2GW Al Dhafra solar power plant project, as advisors to the lenders on the landmark project in the UAE. Once completed, it will be the world's largest photovoltaic power project.

The project was developed by Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) and awarded to a consortium led by EDF Renewables and Jinko Power HK, a subsidiary of Jinko Power Technology Company (JinkoPower), who will together hold 40% of the project company, with the remaining 60% shared between their local partners, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) (40%) and Masdar (20%).

Clifford Chance advised the lenders to the project company, consisting of BNP Paribas, MUFG, Standard Chartered Bank, SMBC, Bank of China, CACIB and HSBC.

"The transaction highlights the commitment of international energy developers as well the financial industry to the development of clean power generation. We are pleased to have worked with the banks on this significant step towards the UAE's ambitious renewable energy goals, said partners Robin Abraham and Richard Parris, who led the Clifford Chance team advising on the project.

Key members of the multi-practice team at Clifford Chance advising on the project included:
Jeremy Barker (Senior Associate), Angad Chaturvedi (Senior Associate), Shamim Khan (Associate) and Mahmoud ElBanhawi (Trainee) on the finance documents aspects
Cheuk-Yin Cheung (Counsel) and Uzair Khan (Associate) on the hedging aspects
Inaamul Laher (Head of Construction, MENA), Anna Cornelius (Senior Associate) and Chris Shelton (Senior Associate) on the project documents aspects

Expected to be fully operational by the second half of 2022, the Al Dhafra plant will power approximately 160,000 households across the UAE and reduce Abu Dhabis CO2 emissions by more than 2.4 million metric tonnes per year, the equivalent of removing approximately 470,000 cars from the roads.

Abu Dhabi is already home to the 1.2GW Noor Abu Dhabi plant which is currently the worlds largest operational single-project solar PV plant.

The highly competitive procurement process for the project is said to have contributed to the world-record tariff price for solar PV energy offered by EDF Renewables and JinkoPower of $1.35 cents / kWh on a levelised cost of electricity (LEC) basis, said the statement from Clifford Chance.

The price was subsequently reduced to $1.32 cents / kWh at closing (primarily as a result of hedging costs) and is also approximately 44% lower than the tariff set on the Noor Abu Dhabi project three years ago, an indication of how rapidly renewable energy costs are falling.

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