A consortium comprising EDF Renewables, Korea Western Power Company (Kowepo), and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) has won the tender to build and operate a 1.5-gigawatt solar photovoltaic power plant in United Arab Emirates.

The consortium signed the contract with Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec), along with a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the electricity to be generated from the Al Ajban Solar PV Independent Power Project. The PPA is structured as an energy purchase agreement, whereby Ewec will pay only for the net electricity supplied by the plant.

Under the terms of the contract, the consortium will design, finance, build and operate the plant, which will be located in Al Ajban, 70 kilometres northeast of Abu Dhabi. Financial close is expected by the third quarter of this year.

The Al Ajban solar power plant, which is scheduled to start commercial operation in the third quarter of 2026, will make the UAE home to four of the world’s largest single-site solar power plants, with three of them located in Abu Dhabi.

The project will generate enough electricity to power 160,000 households across the UAE and reduce Abu Dhabi’s carbon emissions by 2.4 million metric tonnes per year.

By 2030, Ewec is aiming to provide more than 50% of Abu Dhabi’s electricity from renewable and clean energy sources, with its latest forecasts recommending the addition of 1.4GW of new solar energy capacity per year between 2027 and 2037.

The company is a unit of Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ.