Bids are in for the 2 GW solar power plant tender for Al Dhafra region in Abu Dhabi being helmed by the Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), reported local media referring to an official statement. Winners will be announced in the first quarter of 2020 after the utility completes technical evaluation followed by a commercial evaluation process of the bids received.
Construction on the project site is currently underway, said EWEC, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower).
Launched in February 2019, the tender received expression of interest from 48 developers of which 24 local and international companies qualified for the request for proposal (RFP) round (see 24 Companies For 2 GW Abu Dhabi Solar Tender).
EWEC has not revealed the names of the bidders for this massive project but said bids were submitted by 'a range of international energy sector experts'.
The agency also allowed an optional bid for significant battery storage which led to 'substantial market interest'. "This added option provided an opportunity to build on the existing 108 MW battery capacity that can last for up to six hours, already operational in Abu Dhabi's current electricity storage system," read a report in the Gulf Today.
Winners of the project will be required to finance, construct, install, operate and maintain the 2 GW facility which is claimed to be the 'world's largest solar PV IPP project' on completion in Q1/2022, eclipsing the current largest operational single-site located PV plant Noor Abu Dhabi in Sweihan with 1,177 MW (see 1.17 GW Sweihan Solar Project Energized).