(Headline corrected from 'Abu Dhabi awarding the contract for AlZarraf solar PV IPP' to JDA signing between EDF and KOWEPO for the said project. Clarifications and additional information shared in 2nd, 4th, 6th and 7th paragraphs)  

A consortium comprising EDF Power Solutions and Korea Western Power Company (KOWEPO) have signed a joint development agreement (JDA) for the 1.5 gigawatts (GW) Al Zarraf PV solar Independent Power Producer (IPP) project in Abu Dhabi.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of World Utilities Congress 2025 in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Zarraf Solar PV will be Emirates Water and Electricity Company’s (EWEC) and Abu Dhabi’s fifth utility-scale solar PV project.

EWEC had issued the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the project in January 2025. Twenty companies and consortiums had submitted EOIs, while 16 companies and consortiums qualified for the RFP stage after submitting Statements of Qualification.

The project will significantly contribute to EWEC’s strategic plan to increase Abu Dhabi’s solar power capacity to at least 10 gigawatts-ac (GWac) by 2030, EWEC had said in a statement issued in January.

The EDF Renewables - KOWEPO consortium are among the three contenders for the 1.5GW Al Khazna Solar PV IPP in Abu Dhabi, and according to a March 2025 report by Dubai-based project intelligence portal MEED, submitted the lowest bid.   

In September 2024, the two companies with UAE's Masdar had announced the financial close on the 1.5GW Al Ajban Solar PV project in Abu Dhabi.

By 2035, EWEC forecasts that at least 18GW of solar PV will be in operation, supporting the realisation of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy’s Clean Energy Strategic Target 2035 for Electricity Production.

(Writing by P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com) 

Subscribe to our Projects' PULSE newsletter that brings you trustworthy news, updates and insights on project activities, developments, and partnerships across sectors in the Middle East and Africa