Abu Dhabi Power to develop largest thermal plant in the UAE

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower) and Japan-based Marubeni Corporation on Sunday announced the formation of a consortium to develop the Fujairah F3 independent power producer (IPP) project, which will be the largest independent thermal power plant in the UAE.

The Fujairah F3 IPP project includes the development, financing, construction, operation, maintenance and ownership of a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant, together with associated infrastructure.

Located in the Fujairah water and electricity complex, between the existing Fujairah F1 and Fujairah F2 water and electricity plants, the Fujairah F3 IPP project will have a contracted power capacity of 2.4GW, bringing ADPower’s current power generation capacity to 20.4GW. Once operational, Fujairah F3’s capacity will be able to power the equivalent of 380,000 households.

“Our ambition is to transform Abu Dhabi’s water and electricity sector into a reliable, efficient, sustainable and value-generating system that optimises our robust portfolio of assets and creates unique partnership opportunities,” said Jasim Husain Thabet, chief executive officer and managing director of ADPower.

“The F3 IPP Project represents a significant milestone in this journey, deploying world-class technology and efficiency standards to meet the UAE’s evolving power needs,” he added.

Through this project, the government of Abu Dhabi will indirectly own a 60 per cent stake, while the remaining 40 per cent will be owned by Marubeni Corporation. The construction of the Fujairah F3 IPP project, which is the largest CCGT power plant in the UAE’s current fleet, is expected to commence swiftly to enable Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) to procure early power by summer 2022 and full generation by summer 2023.

“As part of the tender process, EWEC conducted a robust due diligence exercise, in line with the UAE energy industry’s world-class standards, in order to select the most attractive technical and commercial bid for this project,” said Othman Al Ali, chief executive officer of EWEC

“The Fujairah F3 IPP project will apply one of the most efficient and advanced CCGT technologies available in the region, producing more energy that aligns with the UAE Energy Strategy 2050’s CO2 emissions reduction targets,” he added.

“It will play a strategic role in the growth and development of the UAE, providing secure and reliable power to match the needs of consumers in Abu Dhabi and the UAE,” Al Ali said.

The Fujairah F3 IPP project will grow ADPower’s portfolio of investments in power generation assets, which form part of the assets subject to the recently announced offer to Abu Dhabi National Energy Company Taqa.

If accepted and approved by Taqa and regulatory authorities, the proposed transaction would create a combined entity that is expected to be one of the largest utilities companies in the GCC, a top-10 integrated utilities player in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region by regulated assets, and the third-largest company listed on the UAE stock markets by market cap.