Abu Dhabi to select consultants for 350 MW solar plant

The Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) expects to appoint consultants for a planned 350-MW solar project in Abu Dhabi by the end of this month. The state-owned company expects to hold the first coordination meeting in February, according to a note released by ADWEA recently.

ADWEA expects to select a developer for the project in the second half of 2016. The competitive process is to start in the first half of the year. ADWEA plans to reach financial close in the first half of 2017. Under the preliminary timeline, the 350-MW solar power plant is to be up and running in 2019.

Already, about 90 international and local firms have expressed their interest in participating in the scheme.

The project will be built in Sweihan, about 120 kilometres east of the capital.

This would be the first such solar project carried out by Adwea. The selected developer would own up to 40 per cent of SPV, with Adwea taking the other 60%.

The facility, which would produce enough electricity to power more than 50,000 homes, would be structured as an independent power project with a power purchase agreement. According to the tender announcement, Adwea will “pay only for the net electrical energy supplied by the plant.”

Abu Dhabi is committed to producing 7 per cent of its total power from renewable energy sources by 2020, and the Sweihan project will be the first under the initiative.