Abu Dhabi has received six bids to build a 350MW solar power plant in Sweihan , east of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The proposed plant will generate 7% of its power from green methods by 2020, reported Reuters.
Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) stated that one of the offered bids quoted $0.0242 per kilowatt-hour, which is the lowest cost for solar power generation by a commercial project , according to Al Arabiya.
The Sweihan plant comes as part of Abu Dhabi’s efforts to diversify its energy base into renewable power.
The facility will be ADWEA’s first foray into solar energy, although the authority currently has 11 gas-fired independent water and power projects. Furthermore, green energy company Masdar has launched some renewables projects in the emirate.
UAE is not the only Arabic Gulf nation looking at renewable energy, as the GCC is expected to grow its solar capacity to reach 10GW by 2020, representing a market opportunity of at least $10b. Furthermore, the entire MENA region is expected to attract $35b worth of renewable energy investments every year by 2020 thanks to the latest advances in lower-cost solar photovoltaic modules.
