World’s Largest Solar Power Plant Moves Forward In Abu Dhabi With Contract Award

  • Date: 27-Jul-2020
  • Source: Forbes
  • Sector:Oil & Gas
  • Country:UAE
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World’s Largest Solar Power Plant Moves Forward In Abu Dhabi With Contract Award

Plans to develop the world's largest solar power plant in the deserts of the Gulf have been given the go-ahead, with the authorities in the UAE awarding the project to a multinational consortium on July 26.

The state-owned Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) has awarded the contract for the 2GW plant to Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa), another local firm Masdar, French utility company EDF and China's JinkoPower. As ratings agency Standard & Poor's noted, EWEC is a subsidiary of ADQ, which also holds a stake in Taqa.

The total cost of the project at Al Dhafra, some 35km from Abu Dhabi city, has not been revealed. However, when bids for the scheme were submitted earlier this year, Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower) said it had secured the world's lowest tariff for a solar power plant, with a bid of 1.35 U.S. cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), on a levelized cost of electricity.

Abu Dhabi is already home to one very large solar power plant, the 1.2GW Noor Abu Dhabi which started commercial operations in April last year. Also run by Taqa, it claims to be the world's largest operational single-project solar PV plant.

Neighbouring Dubai has a different but similar claim to