Five bidders announced for Dubai 800 MW solar project

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has recently announced that it has received five bids from international firms for the construction of the 800 MW third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar PV park.

According to sources, the following five teams have submitted final bids for the project:

• The joint venture formed by: Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) - Masdar
• The joint venture formed by: Jinko Solar - RWE
• ACWA Power
• EDF and Qatar's Nebras Power
• A team led by Marubeni Corporation

DEWA will purchase the power under a long term power purchase agreement (PPA). The project has attracted the lowest bid for the amount of US$0.0299/KWh. The next step in the bidding process will be the review of the technical and commercial aspects in order to select a final developer. The preferred bidder is expected to be announced in June this year​.

The 800 MW project, based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model, is another landmark project that will make Dubai and the UAE a mayor producer of renewable and clean energy. The project will be located about 50 km south of the city of Dubai.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is one of the largest renewable energy projects in the region, with a planned production capacity of 5,000 MW by 2030.

According to local sources, Saeed Mohammed AlTayer, managing director and CEO of DEWA, said: 

"The wide participation in this vital sector reflects the trust and interest of international investors to invest in mega energy projects with Dubai Government. DEWAis leading by example in performance, efficiency, productivity, and excellence, in providing electricity and water services at the highest international levels of reliability and availability."

"This strategy includes initiatives such as the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is the largest single-site project to generate electricity from solar energy in the world, with a planned capacity of 5,000 MW by 2030, and total investment of US$13.6 billion to save approximately 6.5 million tones per annum in emissions."

"DEWA is able to keep up with developments in energy and has demonstrated its flexibility to do so. This is based on its success in implementing the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, which has targets to provide seven per cent of Dubai's total power output from clean energy sources by 2020. This target will increase to 25 per cent by 2030 and 75 per cent by 2050."