#AbuDhabi's TAQA announces financial closing for world’s largest solar power plant | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Abu Dhabi's TAQA announces financial closing for world’s largest solar power plant | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) – alongside partners Masdar, EDF Renewables and JinkoPower – announced today the successful financial closing of the Al Dhafra Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Independent Power Producer (IPP) project.

The record-breaking project, located approximately 35 kilometres from Abu Dhabi city, will have a capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW) and will supply power to Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC). Once operational, the Al Dhafra Solar PV IPP will be the world’s largest single-site solar power plant, using approximately 4 million solar panels to generate enough electricity for approximately 160,000 homes across the UAE.

Financing for the project will come from seven international banks, following the signing of the power purchase agreement in July 2020. Earlier in the year, the competitive bidding for the project led to one of the most competitive tariffs for solar power, set at AED 4.97 fils/kWh (US$ 1.35 cents/kWh), which upon financial closing, was further improved to AED 4.85 fils/kWh (US$ 1.32 cents/kWh), primarily driven by hedging and financing cost improvements, in addition to other optimisation efforts. TAQA will own 40 percent of the Al Dhafra project, while the remaining partners – Masdar, EDF Renewables and JinkoPower – will have a 20 percent stake each.

The plant will deploy the latest in crystalline, bifacial solar technology, which will enable the plant to provide more efficient electricity by capturing solar irradiation from both the front and backside of the panel. Upon full commercial operation, the plant is expected to reduce Abu Dhabi’s CO2 emissions by more than 2.4 million metric tons per year, equivalent to removing approximately 470,000 cars from the road.