Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec) has announced that four major utility developers have submitted proposals for the development of the new 1.5GW Al Ajban solar photovoltaic (PV) independent power project (IPP) located in Abu Dhabi.

These are Saudi-based Acwa Power; French utility major EDF Renewables, Japan's Marubeni Corporation and a consortium with China's Jinko Power and Japan's largest power generation company Jera as partners.

Ewec had received 43 EoIs (expressions of interests) from potential bidding companies and consortiums, with 19 qualifying for the RFP stage after submitting statements of qualification.

Announcing this, Ewec said Al Ajban Solar PV is its third world-leading solar power project, thus making Abu Dhabi home to three of the largest single-site solar power plants.

Once commercially operational it will generate enough electricity to power approximately 160,000 homes across the UAE and is expected to reduce Abu Dhabi’s CO2 emissions by up to 2.4 million metric tonnes per year. It will also raise Ewec's total solar power capacity to approximately 4 gigawatts (AC), it added.

Additionally, Al Ajban Solar PV project plays a pivotal role in enabling Ewec to achieve its strategic plans of raising Abu Dhabi’s solar power generation capacity to 7.3 GW by 2030 and supplying 60% of Abu Dhabi’s total power demand from renewable and clean energy sources by 2035.

Ewec CEO Othman Al Ali said: "Al Ajban Solar PV demonstrates EWEC’s accumulative expertise in commissioning and deploying world-leading innovative, emission-free utility projects to secure and despatch sustainable and reliable power supply across the UAE."

Ewec’s renewable energy projects are further strengthening the UAE's position as a global leader and role model in planning and implementing strategic tangible actions to realise long term socio-economic and sustainability objectives, he stated.

"Receiving these competitive bids demonstrates our expertise in commissioning world-leading renewable energy projects that attract internationally renowned companies to collaborate on achieving the UAE’s carbon-neutral future," he added.

Moving forward, Ewec said the proposals will undergo a detailed technical and commercial evaluation process to select the best proposal.

The awarding announcement and the execution of the power purchase agreement are expected by Q4, it added.-TradeArabia News Service

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