Ewec issues RFPs for RO plant; gets bids for IPP
01 August 2023
Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to qualified developers and developer consortiums interested in developing the new Abu Dhabi Islands Reverse Osmosis independent water project (IWP). The utility company has also announced that it has received proposals for the development of the new 1.5GW Al Ajban solar photovoltaic (PV) independent power project (IPP) located in Abu Dhabi.
The Abu Dhabi Islands RO IWP project consists of two standalone greenfield low-carbon intensive RO seawater desalination plants to be located on Saadiyat Island and Hudayriat Island.
Together, the plants will provide a total of 100 million gallons per day (mgpd), equivalent to 455,000 cu m potable water per day, said Ewec.
The RFP is being issued to bidders who have passed the qualification process following the Expression of Interests (EOI) stage that took place in September last year. A total of 41 companies and consortiums had submitted EOIs of which 19 have qualified for the RFP stage. The deadline for submitting the RFPs has been set for Q4 2023.
The project scope includes the development, financing, construction, operation, maintenance, and ownership of the plant and associated infrastructure.
The successful developer or developer consortium will own up to 40 per cent of the entity, while the remaining equity will be held indirectly by the Abu Dhabi Government, it added.
Ewec CEO Othman Al Ali said: “Low-carbon intensive RO water desalination technology is a key innovation that advances our strategic initiative of decoupling power and water generation capacity.”
“Once complete, the Abu Dhabi Islands RO project will become our seventh and eighth RO plants, enabling us to significantly shift our fleet to a water production portfolio that actively contributes to the decarbonisation of the sector, support UAE Water Security Strategy 2036, UAE Energy Strategy 2050, and the UAE Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative objectives.”
Meanwhile, Ewec has also announced that four major utility developers have submitted proposals for the development of the new 1.5GW Al Ajban solar IPP.
These are Saudi-based Acwa Power; French utility major EDF Renewables, Japan’s Marubeni Corporation and a consortium with China’s Jinko Power and Japan’s largest power generation company Jera as partners.
Ewec had received 43 EOIs from potential bidding companies and consortiums, with 19 qualifying for the RFP stage after submitting statements of qualification.
Announcing this, Ewec said Al Ajban Solar PV is its third world-leading solar power project, thus making Abu Dhabi home to three of the largest single-site solar power plants.
Once commercially operational it will generate enough electricity to power approximately 160,000 homes across the UAE and is expected to reduce Abu Dhabi’s CO2 emissions by up to 2.4 million metric tonnes per year. It will also raise Ewec’s total solar power capacity to approximately 4 gigawatts (AC), it added.
The awarding announcement and the execution of the power purchase agreement are expected by Q4, it added.
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