The Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has invited developers to submit expressions of interest (EOIs) for a 1.5 GW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Abu Dhabi. The Al Ajban Solar PV project would be built in the Ajban area of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The solar project will have the capacity to power nearly 160,000 homes across the UAE once it is operational, displacing more than 2.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. The project is part of the strategic initiatives of the UAE Energy Strategy 2050 and UAE Net Zero by 2050.
The selected company or consortium will be responsible for the project’s development, financing, construction, operation, and maintenance. The project developer will own 40 per cent of the company, with the Abu Dhabi government indirectly owning the remaining 60 per cent. In addition, the selected company will be required to enter into a long-term power purchase agreement with EWEC, under which EWEC will be entitled to only pay for the plant’s net output power.
In November 2021, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA) formed a strategic cooperation on clean energy, with the aim of having 30 GW of renewable capacity by 2030. The new collaboration between ADNOC and TAQA would focus on domestic and worldwide renewable energy and waste-to-energy projects, as well as green hydrogen generation, processing, and storage, and ancillary operations.
REGlobal’s Views: The UAE, which has largely been dependent on fossil fuels for its energy needs, is now focusing significantly on increasing the share of clean power in its energy mix and reducing its dependency on oil which is prone to volatile prices.
