Abu Dhabi, July 27, 2020 – The consortium made up of the EDF Group, via its subsidiary EDF Renewables, and of Jinko Power Technology Co. Ltd, world leaders in renewable energy, has won the tender for the Al Dhafra photovoltaic project in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The future solar power plant will be located in the Al Dhafra region, 35 kilometers south of Abu Dhabi city. With an installed capacity of 2 GW, it will be the most powerful in the world and will supply electricity to the equivalent of 160,000 local homes each year.
It is also the first power plant of this scale to use bifacial modules. The technology consists of capturing solar radiation through both sides of the photovoltaic modules, significantly increasing the power of the installation.
A tender was launched in June 2019 by Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), a leading company in coordinating the planning, procurement and supply of water and electricity in the Emirates United Arabs. EDF Renewables – Jinko Power presented the most competitive offer, with an average electricity production cost of 1.35 cents USD per kilowatt hour.
This project is carried out as a public-private partnership (PPP). EDF Renewables and Jinko Power will each hold 20% shares in the project. The remaining 60% will be held by the two main public players in the electricity sector in Abu Dhabi, TAQA and Masdar.
The partners signed a 30-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with EWEC this week.
They are mobilized to begin construction work before the end of 2020, with commissioning scheduled for 2022. The project will generate more than 4,000 jobs during the construction phase.
Bruno Bensasson, Executive Director of the EDF Group in charge of the Renewable Energy Sector and Chairman and CEO of EDF Renewables, declares:
“ We are very proud to have won the world's largest photovoltaic project in Al Dhafra. This success reflects the quality and competitiveness of the offer that we presented to EWEC, in partnership with Jinko Power.
After the construction of the 1 GW solar power plant in Dubai carried out alongside our partners DEWA and Masdar, and the contribution to the construction of the Hatta hydraulic power plant, this ambitious new project represents a major step forward in the development of the EDF group in renewable energy in the United Arab Emirates. It is also part of EDF's CAP 2030 strategy aiming to double between 2015 and 2030, the Group's installed renewable capacities to bring them to 50 GW net worldwide ».
Charles Bai, President of Jinko Power International Business, adds:
“We are very pleased to have won the Al Dhafra project, the most powerful solar project in the world, succeeding the Noor project in Abu Dhabi, in which Jinko and its partners participate. This new success with our partner EDF demonstrates Jinko Power International's desire to participate in achieving Abu Dhabi's objectives in the field of renewable energies.
The Al Dhafra project not only marks a new milestone in large-scale power generation in Abu Dhabi, but is also set to set a new benchmark in terms of power generation capacity and competitive tariffs. With the rest of our global portfolio of projects in development, Jinko Power is furthering our commitment to providing renewable energy for the benefit of consumers, shoppers and the planet. ».
About EDF
A major player in the energy transition, the EDF group is an integrated energy company, present in all businesses: production, transport, distribution, trading, energy sales and energy services. Leader in low-carbon energies in the world, the Group has developed a diversified production mix based on nuclear energy, hydraulics, new renewable energies and thermal energy. The Group participates in the supply of energy and services to approximately 38.9 million customers (1), including 28.8 million in France. In 2019, it achieved a consolidated turnover of 71.3 billion euros. EDF is a company listed on the Paris Stock Exchange.
(1) Customers are counted at the end of 2019 by delivery site; a customer can have two delivery points: one for electricity and another for gas.
About EDF Renewables
EDF Renewables is a world leader in renewable electricity, with an installed capacity of 12.6 GW gross worldwide. Its development is mainly focused on wind power and photovoltaic solar power. Mainly present in Europe and North America, EDF Renewables continues its development by taking a position in promising emerging markets such as: Brazil, China, India, South Africa and the Middle East. The Company, which is strongly positioned in the offshore wind sector, is also present in other renewable energy sectors such as energy storage. EDF Renewables ensures the development and construction of renewable energy projects as well as their operation and maintenance. EDF Renouvelables is the subsidiary of the EDF group dedicated to the development of solar and wind energy.
For more information : www.france.edf-powersolutions.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/edf-renouvelables and on Twitter @EDF_RE in French and @EDF_Renewables in English.
PRESS CONTACT
Manon of Cassini-Hérail ▪ tel. : +33 (0)1 40 90 48 22 ▪ email: manon.decassini-herail@edf-en.com
About Jinko power
A renowned global independent power producer founded in 2011, JinkoPower develops, builds, finances, owns and operates photovoltaic power plants. Our ambition is to make photovoltaic energy the most sustainable and competitive source of energy anywhere in the world.
As of December 31, 2019, the company owned and connected approximately 3.09 GW of photovoltaic projects, and managed a large international portfolio of assets, including the world's largest photovoltaic power plant which we partly built. We are developing a global portfolio of large-capacity photovoltaic power plant projects in our strategic markets, namely China, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, and Asia Pacific.
PRESS CONTACT
Sebastian Liu ▪ Tel. : +02151833288 ▪ Email: irchina@jinkopower.com