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ABU DHABI / Reuters
Abu Dhabi is pushing ahead with a second solar power plant and will invite bidders by the middle of the year, a top official of the emirate’s utility said on Monday.
Last year the Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (Adwea) closed a $872 million financing package for its first solar power plant with capacity of 1,177 megawatts, the world’s largest. The first plant is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2019.
“We plan to invite bidders by the middle of 2018. The capacity will be the same as the first solar plant, if not more,†Saif Saleh al Sayari, acting director-general of Adwea told Reuters at a renewable energy summit.
Details of the project will be announced in the coming months, he said.
Abu Dhabi aims to generate 7 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020. The government’s green energy firm Masdar has launched renewable energy projects including solar plants in other countries.