World’s lowest bid of $0.0135/kWh wins in Abu Dhabi’s 2 GW solar tender

Emirates Water and Electricity Co. (EWEC) tweeted on Sunday that it has awarded the Al Dhafra solar project to a consortium led by Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. (TAQA) and Abu Dhabi-based solar developer Masdar, with partners EDF and JinkoPower.

تفخر شركة مياه وكهرباء الإمارات بالإعلان عن فوز الائتلاف الذي تقوده شركة طاقة، ومصدر، مع الشركاء “إي دي إف”، و”جينكو باور”، بتطوير محطة الظفرة للطاقة الشمسية الكهروضوئية، أكبر محطة للطاقة الشمسية في العالم بقدرة تصل إلى 2 غيغاواط من الكهرباء. لمعرفة المزيد https://t.co/x2u18KVdSN pic.twitter.com/aPGsgTItQ8

— EWEC (@EWEC_AE) July 26, 2020

The consortium submitted a record bid of AED0.0497 ($0.013533)/kWh in a July tender. EWEC said the project has 2 GW of capacity and will be built approximately 35 kilometers from Abu Dhabi. “Once fully operational, the plant will increase Abu Dhabi’s solar power capacity to approximately 3.2 GW,” said TAQA CEO Jasim Husain Thabet.

The facility will be 60%-owned by TAQA and Masdar, while EDF and JinkoPower will hold the remaining 40%. EWEC said it aims to reach financial close on the project in the third quarter, with partial generation set to begin in the first half of 2022. The array will be fully operational by the second half of 2022.

The $0.0135/kWh bid is around $0.002 lower than the previous record of QAR0.0571 ($0.0156)/kWh, offered by Total and Marubeni in Qatar’s 800 MW tender in late January.