The Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), Abu Dhabi’s state-owned water and electric utility has invited expressions of interest (EoI) for the development of 2 GW of solar power projects at Al Dafra, 50 kilometers from Abu Dhabi.

A special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be incorporated under the laws of United Arab Emirates and a developer or a consortium can own up to 40 percent of the 2 GW independent solar power projects. The remaining equity will be held directly or indirectly by Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPC) and other Abu Dhabi government entities.

The brief scope of work includes the development, financing, construction, operation, maintenance, and ownership of the 2 GW solar power projects.

The SPV will enter into power purchase agreement with EWEC as the procurer. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of ADPC. In the PPA, the procurer will only pay for the net electrical energy supplied by the solar projects.

The last date to submit EoI is March 5, 2019.

EWEC replaced the earlier Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Company (ADWEC), that was merged within the Ministry of Energy in 2018.

In March 2018, Mercom reported that the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park was set to become the largest single-site solar park in the world based on the Independent Power Producer model. The solar park is set to generate 1,000 MW by 2020 and 5,000 MW by 2030 and once completed, the project is expected to provide clean energy to over 270,000 residences in Dubai and eliminate 1.4 million tons of carbon emissions per year.

In November 2018, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) signed an agreement to add 250 MW of solar photovoltaic at the fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. This increased the total capacity of the solar park from 700 MW to 950 MW.

The agreement was amended to include power purchase agreement with the consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power which also includes China’s Shanghai Electric for the additional 250 MW solar PV to be developed for a tariff of $0.024/kWh