Abu Dhabi inaugurates 2-GW Al Dhafra solar park

Abu Dhabi on Thursday inaugurated the 2-GW Al Dhafra solar power park which is now feeding clean electricity into the grid at a tariff of AED 48.5 (USD 13.2/EUR 12.16) per MWh.

The facility, touted as the world’s largest single-site solar power plant, was officially opened by Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi, in the presence of the project's owners -- Masdar, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), EDF Renewables and JinkoPower, as well as electricity procurer Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC).

Equipped with almost 4 million bi-facial solar panels, Al Dhara is expected to generate enough power to supply almost 200,000 homes, displacing 2.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions every year.

TAQA is the largest shareholder in the project with 40% while each of Masdar, EDF Renewables and JinkoPower holds a 20% stake.

The commissioning of the plant boosted Abu Dhabi's solar energy capacity to 3.2 GW. EWEC expects to launch the development of an additional 1 GW of new solar projects in Abu Dhabi every year for the next ten years in a push to speed up the decarbonisation of power generation.

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