2GW Al Dhafra Solar Plant To Soon Start Supplying Electric Power

World’s Largest Single-Site Solar Power Plant Project Had Been Installed At The Site

"The team has installed more than three million solar PV modules and is gearing up for commissioning," the company said in another tweet.

The Al Dhafra project is 60% owned by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) and Masdar, while the remaining 40% is held by France’s EDF Renewables and China’s Jinko Power.

The financial close on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) project was achieved in December 2020.

In January, Suntech, a Chinese producer of solar panels, said it had completed the delivery of all 680 MW of PV modules for the project.

As the report mentioned, the Al Dhafra plant, located in the desert some 35 kilometres south of the capital Abu Dhabi, will use approximately 3.5 million solar panels to generate enough electricity for about 160,000 homes across the UAE.

It started producing its first kilowatt-hours of electricity at the end of last year, and it is expected to officially go into service before the summer.

The project will mitigate 2.4 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

According to the report, Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), the sole procurer of electricity and water in Abu Dhabi, will be the plant’s off-taker.

As the UAE works towards its goal of going net zero by 2050, EWEC wants to increase the amount of solar power it can make by 606% by 2030.

A report called Statement of Future Capacity Requirements shows that the Abu Dhabi utility wants to increase its solar power capacity to 7.3 gigawatts by the end of the decade.