Abu Dhabi revives Noor 1 solar project

29 October 2014

At least 12 firms submitted expressions of interest on 26 October

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) has revived its Noor solar power project, with at least 12 firms having submitted expressions of interest (EoIs) for engineering, procurement and construction contracts by the 26 October deadline.

Bids for the technical advisory contract were submitted last week.

The project will consist of 100MW of photovoltaic (PV) panels and will be located to the east of Al-Ain city in the Al-Aflaj area. It is the first phase of 3 Noor solar projects, for which land has already been allocated.

The scheme was originally tendered in 2011, with a projected completion date in late 2013. However, problems arose related to Masdar’s insistence on using 50 per cent solar panels of its own manufacture. This requirement has been dropped from the new tender.

PV technology has advanced since 2011, bringing down costs. Masdar is confident it “can secure more optimised prices” with a new round of bidding, according to a spokesperson.

In the previous, abandoned bidding process, the 14 companies that prequalified were:

  • ABB (Switzerland)
  • Acciona (Spain)
  • BP Solar (UK)
  • Elecnor (Spain)
  • Environmena (local)
  • Gerlicher (Germany)
  • Iberdrola (Spain)
  • Isolux Corsan (Spain)
  • M+W Group (Germany)
  • Phoenix Solar (Germany)
  • Schneider Electric (France)
  • Siemens (Germany)
  • Sun Power (US)
  • Q-Cells (Germany)

However, only half chose to bid, including Elecnor, Enviromena and Sun Power. Other firms cited the requirement to use Masdar’s panels, then still in development, as a deterrent due to the raised costs this would entail.

Masdar successfully completed a previous solar project, Shams 1, in 2013. The plant has 100MW of concentrated solar power capacity, making it the largest of its type in the world. However, it is projected to be overtaken by Morocco’s Noor project, on which Masdar has bid in a consortium with UK/French GDF Suez International Energy and the US’ Solar Reserve.

Masdar is also trialling desalination using renewables, as they work towards meeting Abu Dhabi’s ambitious target for alternative energy. However, the emirate is unlikely to reach its target of 7 per cent of installed capacity, or 2,100MW, by 2020.

Abu Dhabi is also investing in nuclear energy to meet rising demand, with its first nuclear reactor at the Baraka plant due to come online in 2017.

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