Adwea is close to finalising shortlist of bidders for Mirfa plant

Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (Adwea) is close to finalising a shortlist of bidders for Mirfa, the next planned power plant, to meet the emirate’s power and water demand growth of 10 per cent a year, the company’s director general said yesterday.

“This is in the final stage,” said Abdulla Saif Al Nuaimi, during the official inauguration of the Shuweihat S2 plant in the Western Region yesterday. “Very soon we’re going to shortlist it.”

The US$2.7 billion power plant located on a bleak stretch of coastline near Jebel Dhanna is the latest in a race to meet growing power and water demand.

The 1,510-megawatt plant, capable of fuelling 100,000 homes and meeting 15 per cent of the emirate’s water needs, has been operating since 2011.

The plant has helped to fuel industrial diversification efforts in the Western Region, said Mohamed Hamad Azzan bin Al Mazrouei, the director general of the Western Region Development Council, a planning body for the region.

“This is one of the projects that will have a huge impact on the upcoming projects,” he said on the sidelines of the ceremony, which was also attended by Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, the Ruler’s representative in the Western Region. “This is one of the prerequisites to have the projects in Al Gharbia.”

Carl Sheldon, the chief executive of Abu Dhabi National Energy, also known as Taqa, said: "We are pleased to be part of this partnership to create greater prosperity for the communities of Al Gharbia through the development of infrastructure and economic growth."

“By investing in new power and water desalination infrastructure we are helping to ensure energy security and resilience of one the most important engines of Abu Dhabi’s growth.”

The opening comes as Abu Dhabi eyes ambitious plans in nuclear, renewables and stand-alone desalination plants to meet rising demand in Abu Dhabi and the Northern Emirates, thanks to population growth and energy-intensive industrial diversification projects.

Power demand in Abu Dhabi is growing at a rate of more than 10 per cent a year, while water consumption is projected to rise from 880 million imperial gallons a day today to 1.15 billion by 2021.

Shuweihat S2 can process 100 million gallons a day, but Taqa says that rather than tacking water facilities alongside power plants, the emirate needs stand-alone desalination sites.

Shifting from heat-based technology to filtering water, which has become cheaper in recent years, can help to meet demand in remoter sites such as Fujairah and the Western Region, said Ahmed Al Adawi, Taqa’s head of water.

“There is a local and regional market shift to independent water projects – a decoupling from power generation,” he said. “We need a way to enure steady water production without having to generate unwanted electricity.”

This summer Taqa closed the final piece of financing for Shuweihat S2 with the issue of a $825 million bond. The rest of the plant was financed by $690m in bank loans and $780m from Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Japan’s export credit agency.

The plants employs 100 people and sells output to Adwea under a 25-year purchase agreement.

ayee@thenational.ae