India-based engineering firm Sterling and Wilson has won both the turnkey engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operation and maintenance contract for the world’s largest single location solar photovoltaic (PV) plant at Sweihan in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The plant is being jointly developed by Marubeni, a Japanese integrated trading and investment giant, along with Jinko, a global leader in the solar industry, and Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (Adwea).

Sterling and Wilson, one of the dominant global forces in the solar PV space, said the project will deliver a capacity of 1177 MWp, easily surpassing the current largest 850 MWp single location plant in China.

With construction already under way, the  plant, which is spread over a desert area of 7.8 sq km, is scheduled to be fully integrated with the grid in a record timeline of just 23 months. To top it all, the project was awarded at the lowest ever recorded bid in the history of PV solar, stated the Mumbai-based Sterling and Wilson.

The Marubeni consortium had successfully bid a tariff of $2.42 cents per kilowatt hour, marking the lowest cost ever for solar power, it stated.
 
This is a positive demonstration of the promising future of clean energy, reducing the dominance of fossil-fuel-backed power plants.

Sterling and Wilson pointed out that the prestigious project would be playing a major role in helping Abu Dhabi achieve its aim of sustainability and energy diversification, through the use of clean energy/low carbon growth in accordance with the world’s vision of long-term environmental stewardship.

The plant, once commissioned, would save around seven million tonnes of carbon emissions every year, a number that would be a national landmark, it stated.

To put it in perspective, 1,177 MWp can power around 195,000 homes, thus contributing to the welfare of the current as well as the future generations of the people of the UAE, said a top official.

"We are fully geared and very excited to be a part of this important milestone in the global solar market," said Bikesh Ogra, the president for renewable energy at Sterling and Wilson.

"Owing to the favourable government policies, India is now the third largest market for solar in the world, allowing Sterling and Wilson the opportunity to become the leading solar EPC in the country. The company has created a global brand and has now grown to be the world’s largest solar EPC player outside US and China," he remarked.

Laying emphasis on the need to be competitive, Ogra said: "The strongest contributor to this tariff is the capital expense driven by lower equipment cost and a highly efficient system design. Our unique design offerings and state-of-the-art robotics optimises the yield and performance of the plant."

Sterling and Wilson also has to its credit 1400 MW of best-performing solar power plants in various geographies with a powerhouse of more than 3,000 qualified engineers, project managers and designers.

As the acceleration of growth in the energy sector has increased worldwide, Sterling and Wilson has ventured into the wind and energy storage sectors, covering the entire canvas in the renewable sector, said Ogra.

Backed by its robust resources in project management, project implementation and project engineering, with projects completed in the Philippines and South Africa, and a number of projects in Zambia, Niger and Morocco under construction, the company is fully geared to deliver more than 3,000 MW every year, he added.-TradeArabia News Service