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Masdar, Korea Western Power (Kowepo), and EDF have broken ground on the 1.5 GW Al Ajban solar PV IPP plant in Abu Dhabi, Business Korea reports. The project is set to be operational in 3Q 2026.
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REMEMBER- The consortium inked a 30 year Power Purchase Agreement with the Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec) in April to design, finance, build and operate the plant. EDF Renewables and Kowepo will hold a 20% stake each and Masdar will hold the remaining 60% stake, the statement notes. Ewec will offtake all the renewable energy generated.
The consortium reached a financial close for the project in September after securing funding from six major financial institutions, including BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole CIB, Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC Middle East, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank).
About the plant: The plant — the third utility–scale solar park in Abu Dhabi — is set to be home to three of the world’s largest solar sites when it becomes operational. The plant will deploy approximately 3 mn solar panels mounted on single-axis trackers and power nearly 160k homes across the UAE. The plant is expected to slash Abu Dhabi’s CO2 emissions by over 2.4 mn tons annually, the statement adds.
Not the consortium’s first regional project: EDF and Kowepco are also currently developing Oman’s 500 MW Manah solar project. The plant will deploy around 1 mn bifacial PV modules and provide clean energy for approximately 50k homes while offsetting 780k tons of CO2 annually.
