The Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) has opened a new tender for 1.5 GW AC Khazna Solar PV Project in Abu Dhabi, to be built under the independent power project program of the UAE's capital.
The project is planned as a greenfield project to be located in Al Khazna region of Abu Dhabi. It will be similar in scale and production capacity to 2 GW Al Dhafra solar facility and 1.5 GW AC Al Ajban solar power plant for which EWEC has received proposals from 4 applicants (see Abu Dhabi's GW-Scale Solar Project Moves Forward).
The Al Dhafra solar plant was awarded to the TAQA, Masdar, EDF and Jinko Power consortium in July 2020 (see 2 GW Abu Dhabi Solar Project Partners Announced).
Broad scope of work, as mentioned in the expression of interest (EOI) call, involves development, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of the facility that will be owned by the winner.
Once online, it will generate enough clean energy to power around 160,000 homes across the UAE. It is aligned with the company's ambition to raise its total installed solar PV capacity to 7.3 GW by 2030.
"We continue to strategically invest in developing world-leading renewable projects that significantly accelerate our journey to meeting 60 per cent of Abu Dhabi's total power demand from renewable and clean energy sources by 2035, in addition to actively contributing to the achievement of the UAE's sustainability objectives," said EWEC CEO Othman Al Ali.
The company plans to commission at least 2 additional 1.5 GW solar PV plants as part of its commitment to add an average of 1 GW solar capacity/year for the next decade, it added.
Launched on September 18, 2023, applications to the EOI from developers or developer consortiums can be submitted till October 2, 2023. Details are available on EWEC's website.
Post the review of submitted EOIs, EWEC will issue the request for qualifications (RFQ) round, to be followed by a request for proposal (RFS).