(Credit: Pixabay)Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower) recently announced the world’s lowest tariff for solar power. ADPower’s subsidiary, Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), delivered a virtual read-out of five consortia’s technical and commercial bids for the 2 GW Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Independent Power Producer (IPP) project, to be located in Abu Dhabi. The project has received, from the first-ranked bidder, the world’s most cost-competitive tariff for solar PV energy, set at AED 4.97 fils/kWh ($1.35 cents/kWh) on a Levelized Electricity Cost (LEC) basis, which is approximately 44% lower than tariff set three years ago on the "Noor Abu Dhabi" project — Abu Dhabi’s first large-scale solar PV project and a world record tariff-setter at the time.
The Al Dhafra Solar PV project will have the capacity to power approximately 160,000 households across the UAE with electricity. It will be almost double the size of the approximately 1.2 GW Noor Abu Dhabi solar plant — amongst the largest operational solar PV plants in the world — which commenced commercial operations in April 2019.
Once operational, the Al Dhafra Solar PV project will lift Abu Dhabi’s total solar power generation capacity to approximately 3.2 GW. This will reduce the Emirate’s CO2 emissions by more than 3.6 million metric tons per year, improving efficiency and driving sustainability, while catering for the growth in demand across the UAE.
The Al Dhafra Solar PV project will include the financing, construction, operation, and maintenance of the solar plant, including installation of solar PV modules, inverters, connection to the transmission network and associated facilities.
In July 2019, EWEC received 48 expressions of interest from potential bidders in respect of the Al Dhafra Solar PV project, out of which 24 bidders were qualified to bid for the project after submitting Statements of Qualification. In November 2019, five bids were received for both the Al Dhafra Solar PV project.
The solar power industry has taken a hit due to the covid-19 pandemic, however. The virus is delaying new commercial solar project development and construction. Across North America, many facilities powered by solar have reduced or zero occupancy.
“Total installations this year might be tough compared to expectations three months ago, but I believe those are just going to be delayed a few months and will still get built,” says Jamie Hutson, VP of structured finance for the GE spinoff Distributed Solar Development, in a recent interview with E+E Leader.
