New project will eclipse record-breaking Noor Abu Dhabi solar plant: Minister

ABU DHABI – A senior official announced a commitment to a new solar project in Abu Dhabi that is expected to set a new record.

"I am excited to announce a new 2 gigawatt, GW, solar project in Al Dhafra region here in Abu Dhabi. This will eclipse the record-breaking 1GW Noor Abu Dhabi Plant," said Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment.

He made the announcement without elaborating further about the new solar project, while addressing the Abu Dhabi Climate Meeting on Sunday.

Noor Abu Dhabi, the world’s largest single solar project, with a capacity of 1,177 Megawatt,MW, started commercial operation on the eve of the Abu Dhabi Climate Meeting.

Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), a leading company in the coordination of planning, purchasing and providing of water and electricity across the UAE, said the project will enable Abu Dhabi to increase its production of renewable energy and reduce the use of natural gas in electricity generation. This will make energy more sustainable and efficient and reducing the Emirate’s carbon dioxide emissions by 1 million metric tonnes per year, the equivalent of removing 200,000 cars off the roads, EWEC said.

The AED3.2 billion solar plant, located at Sweihan in Abu Dhabi, is a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi Power Corporation and a consortium of Japan’s Marubeni Corp and China’s Jinko Solar Holding.

Providing enough capacity to cover the demand of 90,000 people, the plant features more than 3.2 million solar panels, installed across an 8km2 site. Beyond size, Noor Abu Dhabi broke another record at the time of bid submission, attracting the world’s most competitive tariff of 8.888 fils/ kilowatt hour.