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One of the China-based PV leaders, JinkoSolar, has entered into an agreement with Japan's renowned Marubeni Corp. and Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Company (ADWEC) to establish a jointed venture for building a large-scale solar power plant in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. With the power purchase agreement (PPA) signed at a quiet low-level price, this construction has grasped attention in the solar industry before its completion.
This utility-scale solar power plant's installation capacity will reach 1,177MW, and the development agreement includes the 25-year PPA, EPC, and operation and maintenance (O&M) services. JinkoSolar's bidding price was US$0.0242 per kWh.
After the completion, this solar power plant will become the biggest-of-its-kind in the world, and its feed-in tariff rate will be at the most competitive level in solar industry, said H.E Abdullah Ali Musleh Al Ahbabi, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA).
This power plant will be located in Swaihan, 120 kilometers east of Abu Dhabi city. Electricity generated from it will be sold to ADWEC, a wholly-owned subsidiary company of ADWEA. Its commercial operation is scheduled to start in September 2019.
Chinese company’s global footsteps
Bloomberg’s senior analyst Joseph Jacobelli explained, JinkoSolar’s international investment in Abu Dhabi did not symbolize Chinese enterprises' investment dispositions, in terms of both preferred energy targets and nations. Many Chinese companies would choose various energy investment plans in the global market.
Regarding renewable energy industry, Chinese wind power company, Longyuan Power, invested in wind power generation projects in Canada in 2014. Currently, it is also building another wind power plant in South Africa.
In addition, SPI Energy invested in solar power projects in nations such as Japan. Recently, solar energy's cost is lowering, it is conceivable and predicable that more solar power plant projects will be carried out.
(Photo: JinkoSolar's 20MW power plant in Wusu city. Photo source: JinkoSolar)
(Reported by Delilah Lin, editor of EnergyTrend; translated from Chinese by Janet Chen, translator at TrendForce Corp.)
