Dubai Gets Record-Low Bid Of 2.99¢/kWh For 800 MW Solar PV Project

May 2nd, 2016 by Saurabh

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority has received yet another record-breaking bid for expansion of the iconic Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the lowest solar price bid in history, for an 800 MW solar PV project that expands on 213 MW.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) had floated tenders for expansion of the Dubai solar power park. The third phase of the project will see addition of 800 MW capacity, to the existing 13 MW (phase I) and under-development 200 MW (phase II) capacity.

DEWA has reported that it received 5 final bids, but did not disclose the names of the participating companies. The lowest bid among them is at a record-breaking 2.99¢/kWh, which makes the project the cheapest-ever in the world.

Initially, the Authority received as many as 95 expressions of interest. Many prospective bidders are believed to have formed joint ventures for the subsequent rounds of bidding, with around 20 left in the fray at the end of last year. These included biggies like SunEdison, ACWA Power, JinkoSolar–RWE, REC Solar, and Engie.

The first phase of the solar park involved the installation of 13 MW worth of capacity and was executed by First Solar, and through the second phase tender, 200 MW capacity was auctioned to Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power–TSK consortium at a then-record-low average tariff of 5.84¢/kWh.

Rumor is that Abdul Latif Jameel (Saudi Arabia) + Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (Spain) + Masdar (UAE) formed a consortium for the low solar price bid of 2.99¢/kWh, JinkoSolar was next at 3.65¢/kWh, and a consortium of First Solar & ACWA Power was next at 3.95¢/kWh.

The initial installed capacity target for Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park was set at 1 GW by 2019. However, last year, DEWA announced that it would boost the park’s capacity to 3 GW by 2030, with a total estimated investment of $3 billion.

The solar power park is central to DEWA’s target to source 7% of Dubai’s total power output from renewable energy sources by 2020, and 15% by 2030.

Recently, the Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) also announced that it received bids from a total of 34 companies for the development of a 350 MW solar power project. The 8 companies competing for the role of main project developers include First Solar, EDF, Enel, Engie, RWE–Belectric, Solar Reserve, and Total–SunPower.











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