EWEC (Emirates Water and Electricity Company) has invited developers and developer consortiums to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) for the development of a new solar photovoltaic (PV) Independent Power Project (IPP) to be located in the Al Dhafra Region, in the Al Zarraf area in Abu Dhabi.

The green field Zarraf Solar PV project will have a generation capacity of 1.5 gigawatts (GW) AC, EWEC said in a press statement on Tuesday.

The project, EWEC's fourth solar IPP after Al Dhafra Solar PV, Al Ajban Solar PV, and Khazna Solar PV, will increase the utility's total solar power capacity to approximately 7 GW (AC).

EWEC’s strategic plan involves building an average of 1.4GW of new solar PV capacity annually between 2027-2037 as part of goal to meet more than 50 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s electricity demand from renewable and clean energy by 2030 and 60 percent by 2035.

The Zarraf Solar PV project will involve the development, financing, construction, operation, maintenance and ownership of the solar PV plant and associated infrastructure. The project will follow the independent power project programme of Abu Dhabi, where developers enter into a long-term power purchase agreement with EWEC as the sole procurer of electricity.

The Expression of Interest (EOI) submission deadline is 22 October 2024, at 12:00 noon Gulf Standard Time (GST). Interested parties are requested to submit their EOI via electronic copy to zarrafpv.project@ewec.ae

Following a review of the EOIs, EWEC will issue the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to proceed to the next stage. After the RFQ, the Request for Proposal to qualified bidders will be shared following regulatory approval of the project.

(Editing by Anoop Menon) (anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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