Masdar-led group wins solar park deal

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber and Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer at the Press conference in Dubai on Monday.

Dubai utility on Monday announced that Masdar-led consortium has won the bid for the building of the 800-megawatt (MW) third phase of Dubai's solar park.
The consortium, which also includes Spanish companies Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) and Gransolar Group, to produce what could be the world's cheapest solar electricity.
The consortium is planning to raise $800 million loan to help fund the third phase of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, Masdar chief executive officer Mohamed Belhoul told reporters.
The consortium is in talks with banks including National Bank of Abu Dhabi, or NBAD, First Gulf Bank or FGB, and Union National Bank, or UNB to provide project finance, Belhoul informed. The funding should be finalised by November or December, he added.
The Masdar-led consortium submitted the lowest generation price to build the plant at 2.99 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, or Dewa, managing director and chief executive officer Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer announced at a news conference. The third phase of the park will be operational by 2020, it added.
The project is planned to be the largest single-site solar park in the world, producing 5,000 MW by 2030 with a total investment of Dh50 billion ($13.6 billion), according to Dewa. The consortium was selected following a significant competition and an evaluation of numerous offers. Dewa has received 95 Expressions of Interest (EOI) from international energy companies, in response to its tender request over 8-29 September 2015. Dewa requested that companies submit their requests for qualification before November 2015. This was followed by a Request for Proposals (RFP), to qualified bidders on 28 December 2015. Dewa received 5 bids from international organisations.
The lowest recorded bid at the opening of the envelopes was $2.99 cents per kW/h. In preparation for the next phase, Dewa will develop shareholder and power-purchase agreements that will be signed in Q4 of 2016.
"The UAE firmly believes that meeting the world's growing energy demand requires a mix of energy sources, where we build on our existing assets of conventional energy, complementing them with alternative sources. By using multiple sources of energy such as natural gas, nuclear and solar, we are delivering both baseload generating capacity and the ability to meet peak energy demand efficiently and cost effectively," said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State, and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar).
"Earlier this month, and in adherence with the directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, we launched the largest Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project in the world, using the IPP model, with an expected capacity of 1,000 MW by 2030, at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park," said Al Tayer.
- abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com