A consortium formed by Jinko Power Technology Co., and EDF Renewables, both global leaders in renewable energy, have been awarded the Al Dhafra solar project in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – the world’s largest standalone solar photovoltaic (PV) project.
The solar photovoltaic plant will be developed in the region of Al Dhafra, 35 kilometers south of Abu Dhabi City.
“With a capacity of 2 GW, it will be the largest single-project solar plant in the world and will generate the equivalent electricity to power over 160,000 local households each year,” EDF said in the company’s official statement.
A Power Purchase Agreement for a period of 30 years has been signed by the consortium with Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), leading entity entrusted with the coordination of planning, purchasing, and providing water and electricity across the UAE.
As per the agreed terms, the project will be developed under the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme. EDF Renewables and Jinko Power will hold 20 percent each and the remaining 60 percent will be owned by TAQA, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, and Masdar, Abu Dhabi-based major player in the electricity sector.
“We are very proud to be awarded the largest solar project in the world at Al Dhafra. This success reflects the quality of our competitive bid submitted to EWEC, in partnership with Jinko Power,” said Bruno Bensasson, EDF Group Senior Executive Vice-President Renewable Energies and CEO of EDF Renewables.
A call for tenders for the project in Al Dhafra was issued in June 2019, by EWEC, and EDF Renewables-Jinko Power submitted the most competitive bid of US $1.35 cent/kilowatt-hour on a Levelized Electricity Cost basis.
“We are very pleased being awarded Al Dhafra project, the new world's single largest solar power generation project, overtaking Noor Abu Dhabi Project, the current world's largest single solar power generation project that is sponsored and co-invested by Jinko and our partners,” said Charles Bai, President of Jinko Power International Business.
“The Al Dhafra project marks not only another important milestone in utility-scale generation in Abu Dhabi, it will set a new record in single plant generation capacity and competitive tariff,” Bai added.
Taqa and Masdar have partnered with the global renewable energy companies to increase the solar power capacity of the emirate, as it looks to generate up to 44 percent of its energy from clean sources by 2050.
