UAE's Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) said it has received four proposals from international companies for the 3.5 gigawatts (GW) Al Nouf 1 Independent Power Producer (IPP) project, marking a key milestone in the procurement of the UAE’s largest single-site carbon-capture-ready CCGT power plant.

The bids were submitted by:

  • Consortium of Saudi Arabia’s Al Jomaih Energy and Water Company, Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries and France’s EDF Power Solutions;
  • Consortium of France’s Engie, South Korea’s Korea Overseas Infrastructure and Urban Development Corporation (KIND) and Korea Western Power Company (KOWEPO);
  • Consortium of South Korea’s Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), the UAE’s Etihad Water and Electricity (EtihadWE)
  • Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation.

The project will be located within the newly established Al Nouf Complex, a coastal site designated to become a major hub for power and water production in the Abu Dhabi emirate.

EWEC said it is moving forward with the technical and commercial evaluation process of the received proposals.

The financial close and project award timelines weren't disclosed but the statement noted that the IPP is expected to achieve commercial operations in the third quarter of 2029. 

The Request for Proposals (RFP) was issued in August 2025.

Ahmed Ali Alshamsi, Chief Executive Officer of EWEC, said the level of participation reflects strong international interest in Abu Dhabi’s power sector and its IPP programme, and the commercial appeal of EWEC’s project pipeline.

“As we deploy unprecedented volumes of renewable energy, integrating the UAE’s largest carbon-capture-ready CCGT plant will provide the essential dispatchable capacity needed to manage intermittency and strengthen grid stability,” he added.

EWEC is working towards raising Abu Dhabi’s solar power capacity to 18 GW and wind power capacity to 2.6 GW by 2035.

In January 2026, Masdar and Engie had reached financial close for the 1.5 GW Khazna Solar PV IPP, Abu Dhabi's fourth utility-scale solar power project after the 2GW Al Dhafra Solar PV IPP, the 1.2 GW Noor Abu Dhabi and 100 MW Shams 1 Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant. 

EWEC is also advancing Taweelah C IPP project, a 2.5 GW carbon-capture-ready CCGT power plant for which the company received three proposals in September 2025.

In December 2025, EWEC and TAQA had reached financial close for the 3.6 billion UAE dirhams ($980 million) 1 GW Al Dhafra Gas Turbine Power Plant dedicated to supplying electricity for data centre projects.  

(Editing by Anoop Menon) (anoop.menon@lseg.com) 

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