EWEC (Emirates Water and Electricity Company), a leading company in the integrated coordination of planning, purchasing and supply of water and electricity across the UAE, today announced the award for its 1.5 gigawatt (AC) Al Ajban Solar PV Independent Power Project, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
The development of the utility-scale solar power plant was awarded to an international consortium of EDF Renewables and Korea Western Power Company (KOWEPO), and Masdar as the local shareholder. Following the award the project’s Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) was signed between EWEC and stakeholders, WAM said.
The signing took place at the World Future Energy Summit in the presence of Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Chairman of Masdar and COP28 President; Hamad Al Hammadi, Chairman of EWEC; and Luc Rémont, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EDF Group.
The agreement was signed by Othman Al Ali, Chief Executive Officer of EWEC; Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Masdar Chief Executive Officer; Beatrice Buffon, Vice-President in Charge of the International Division and Chief Executive Officer of EDF Renewables, and Park, Hyung Duck, Chief Executive Officer of KOWEPO.
EWEC awarded the Al Ajban Solar PV contract after a comprehensive procurement process. The PPA is structured as an energy purchase agreement whereby EWEC will pay only for the net electrical energy supplied by the plant. Under the terms of the PPA, the consortium will design, finance, build and operate the plant, which will be located in Al Ajban, 70km northeast of Abu Dhabi.
Once commercially operational in Q3 2026, Al Ajban Solar PV will make the UAE home to four of the world’s largest single-site solar power plants, with three of them located in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. The project will generate enough electricity to power 160,000 households across the UAE and is expected to reduce Abu Dhabi’s carbon emissions by 2.4 million metric tons per year.
