Stage Set For Record-Low Tariffs As Abu Dhabi Issues 2 Gigawatt Solar EoI
February 26th, 2019 by Saurabh
In the coming few months, the Abu Dhabi will again become the center of attention as it will likely receive another record-low tariff bid for a recently issued expression of interest (EoI) for mega solar power project.
The Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), earlier the Abu Dhabi Electricity and Water Authority (ADEWA), recently issued an EoI calling upon interested developers to submit their quotes to set up a 2-gigawatt solar power project in Abu Dhabi. The project shall be based only on solar PV technology and located at Al Dhafra, 50 kilometers from the city of Abu Dhabi. 
The project will be developed, operated and maintained by a special purpose vehicle in which EWEC and other government authorities own a 60% stake while the winning developer(s) will own the balance 40% stake.
This will be the second, and largest, solar power project undertaken by EWEC. Abu Dhabi already has a 1.17-gigawatt solar power project under construction. The project was allocated to a joint venture of Marubeni and JinkoSolar at a record-low tariff of 2.42¢/kWh.
Dubai, another emirate of the UAE, has made significant progress in development of large-scale solar power project. Dubai hosts the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park with over 1.7-gigawatts of capacity already allocated across four phases.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park will have an eventual capacity of 5 gigawatts. The initial planned capacity was 1 gigawatt which was subsequently increased to 3 gigawatts, and now 5 gigawatts.
Ample availability of land, cheap debt funding, and direct government backing for these large-scale projects yields record-low tariff bids. Projects awarded in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are among the cheapest solar power projects in the world across different technologies.
Note from poster: I have been saying for some time that Chelan PUD needs to get with the program on solar and wind. If they don’t, we will soon go from having the cheapest electricity rates in the country to the highest rates in the country as everybody goes to solar and wind.