The project will be jointly developed by Japanese company Marubeni, Chinese PV module-maker Jinko Solar and Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA). The consortium has bid a tariff of $0.24 per kWh, which is claimed to be lowest cost for solar power till date.
The solar plant, whose construction has already begun, will be spread across in an area of 7.8 km2 and is expected to be fully integrated into the grid within a timeline of 23 months.
The project can help Abu Dhabi in transitioning from fossil fuel dependency towards clean and environmentally-friendly source of energy.
Electricity produced from this solar plant can power as many as 195,000 homes, while avoiding about 7 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually, had the electricity been generated using traditional fossil fuels.
Sterling &Wilson Renewable Energy president Bikesh Ogra “We are fully geared and very excited to be a part of this important milestone in the global solar market.
“The strongest contributor to this tariff is the capital expense driven by lower equipment cost and a highly efficient system design. Our unique design offerings and state-of-the-art robotics optimizes the yield and performance of the plant.”
Sterling &Wilson is part of the Shapoorji Pallonji family. The Mistry and Daruvala families have been partners in Sterling and Wilson for 3 generations.
The company has a turnover of INR17.6bn ($2.73bn) in 2012 and it crosses INR 60bn ($9.3bn) and expects to reach INR100bn ($15.5bn) in 2018.
Apart from India, it currently operates across the Middle East, Africa, Australia and Europe and plans to expand its presence to the US and South America this year.
Image: Sterling &Wilson wins EPC contract for 1177MW solar project in Abu Dhabi. Photo: Courtesy of haak78/ FreeImages.com.
