ACWA Power and TSK Electronica y Electricidad S.A. consortium has reached financial close for the development, construction, ownership and operation of Shuaa Energy 1 PSC, the 260 MWp (200 MWac) solar photo-voltaic (PV) independent power project (IPP) under Phase II of the Middle East's largest renewable energy park viz. the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, Dubai. The agreement also broke new ground by becoming Dubai's first IPP to achieve financial close. Last March 26, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) signed a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the ACWA Power led consortium based on a levelized tariff, which has set a global benchmark for utility scale solar photovoltaic power plants. The project debt has been structured as long-term limited recourse project financing and funded by a group of regional banks including the First Gulf Bank (FGB), The Saudi National Commercial Bank (NCB) and Samba Financial Group (Samba). The project will be constructed under a lump-sum turnkey EPC Contract with TSK. In addition, First National Operation & Maintenance Company Limited (“NOMAC”, a fully owned subsidiary of ACWA Power) shall be responsible for providing operation and maintenance services for the plant. Paddy Padmanathan, President and CEO of ACWA Power, said: “We are very excited that our first project in the UAE is a partnership with DEWA for a global scale path breaking project which also is the foundation of DEWA's vision to develop a green economy in Dubai and place renewable energy at the center of a diversified fuel mix to provide reliable and cost competitive electricity for this Emirate.”
Rajit Nanda, Chief Investment Officer at ACWA Power, said: “This project reinforces our commitment to participating in the provision of sustainable energy security for Dubai. We cherish the trust placed on us by DEWA and look forward to delivering a plant that we can all be proud of which will then enable us to reliably deliver the contracted renewable energy over the full 25 year term of contract.” — SG
