EWEC (Emirates Water and Electricity Company) has invited developers and developer consortiums to submit Expression of Interest (EOI) for the development of the 1,500 megawatts (MW) new Khazna Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Independent Power Project (IPP).

The greenfield solar power plant will be located in Al Khazna area of Abu Dhabi and will be similar in scale and production capacity to Al Dhafra Solar PV and Al Ajban Solar PV.

Once fully operational, the project will generate enough electricity for approximately 160,000 homes across the UAE, and is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by more than 2.4 million metric tonnes per year, equivalent to removing approximately 470,000 cars from the road.

The Khazna Solar PV project will involve the development, financing, construction, operation, maintenance and ownership of the plant and associated infrastructure.

The project will follow the independent power project programme of Abu Dhabi, where developers enter into a long-term power purchase agreement with EWEC as the sole procurer of electricity.

EWEC invites developers or developer consortiums to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) by the deadline of 2 October 2023, at 12:00 noon Gulf Standard Time (GST). Interested parties are requested to submit their EOI via electronic copy to: khaznapv.project@ewec.ae.

Following a review of the EOIs, EWEC will issue the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to proceed to the next stage.

The RFQ will provide additional details regarding the project, pre-qualification criteria and the bidding process.

After RFQ, the subsequent Request for Proposal to qualified bidders will be shared following regulatory approval of the project.

Othman Al Ali, Chief Executive Officer of EWEC, said: “We continue to strategically invest in developing world-leading renewable projects that significantly accelerate our journey to meeting 60 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s total power demand from renewable and clean energy sources by 2035, in addition to actively contributing to the achievement of the UAE’s sustainability objectives.”

With the Khazna Solar PV project, EWEC is bringing to Abu Dhabi and the UAE another world-class utility-scale solar power project that reflects the country’s position at the forefront of energy transition.

The tangible steps EWEC is taking today will enable us to become a role model for the integration of solar power and low-carbon technologies to the grid.

EWEC is also planning to commission at least two additional 1,500MW solar PV projects, reflecting its commitment to adding an average of 1GW of solar capacity per year for the next decade.