EWEC has signed a new Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to extend the operation of the Shuweihat 1 (S1) power plant. The plant is located in Al Dhafra, about 250 kilometres from Abu Dhabi city.
S1 has been running since 2005. It was originally built as a combined power and water desalination facility. The 20-year agreement for the original setup was set to end in 2025.
Under the new agreement, the water desalination section of the plant will be shut down. The plant will be converted into a power-only facility. It will work as a natural gas-fired open-cycle plant and provide 1.1 gigawatts of flexible reserve electricity. This electricity can be used when energy demand goes up, especially when renewable energy sources are not available.
The new power plant setup will begin operating in 2027. The agreement will last for 15 years. TAQA owns 60 percent of the plant. ENGIE and Sumitomo each own 20 percent. These companies will continue running the plant. TAQA will hold 30 percent of the operations and maintenance company, while ENGIE and Sumitomo will hold 35 percent each.
The change in the plant’s role is part of EWEC’s plan to separate water and power production in Abu Dhabi. This is expected to make it easier to include more renewable energy sources like solar and wind in the electricity mix.
Other lesser-known renewable energy projects in the UAE include smaller-scale solar efforts on public buildings and schools in Al Ain and rooftop solar initiatives in Fujairah. One example is a 1.5 MW solar rooftop project on a municipal warehouse in Ras Al Khaimah, supplying part of the city’s logistics operations.
In another case, a 2.3 MW floating solar pilot project was launched on a man-made reservoir in Umm Al Quwain. It tests the performance of solar panels in high-temperature, high-humidity conditions and feeds energy directly into the local water pumping station.
