EDF, KOWEPO, Masdar to develop 1.5 GW of solar in UAE

France’s EDF Renewables, South Korea’s Korea Western Power Co. (KOWEPO), and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co. (Masdar) have agreed to jointly design, finance, build and operate a 1.5 GW solar project in the United Arab Emirates, under a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Emirates Water and Electricity Co. (EWEC).

Image: EWEC

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EWEC has selected an international consortium comprising France’s EDF Renewables, South Korea’s KOWEPO, and Masdar to develop the 1.5 GW Al Ajban solar project in the United Arab Emirates.

EWEC and the other stakeholders have signed a PPA for the project. The consortium will design, finance, build, and operate the plant, with EWEC will only paying for the net electrical energy. The plant will be built in Al Ajban, 70 km northeast of Abu Dhabi.

Masdar Chairman and UAE Minister of Industry Sultan Al Jaber said the project will see the United Arab Emirates host four of the largest single-site plants in the world.

“The UAE is leading by example and matching words with actions in the global effort to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030,” he stated.

Al Ajban Solar PV, projected to be commercially operational by the third quarter of 2026, will generate electricity to power 160,000 households in the United Arab Emirates. The project developers aim to achieve financial close by the third quarter of this year.

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“Our focus extends beyond the immediate benefits, and our advanced techno-economic analysis demonstrates the vital role that solar power plays in meeting both current and future energy demand of Abu Dhabi and the UAE,” said EWEC CEO Othman Al Ali.

By 2030, EWEC wants to source more than half of Abu Dhabi’s electricity from renewable and clean energy. Its latest forecasts recommend adding 1.4 GW of new solar per year between 2027 and 2037. 

The utility recently hosted a tender for the development of an independent greenfield 400 MW battery energy storage system, followed by a request for proposals from developers and consortia for a 1.5 GW solar project in the Al Khazna area of Abu Dhabi.

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