By Rafiq Vayani
DUBAI: Ducab Group has been awarded the full EPC (engineering, procurement & contracting) contract to supply and install 400 kV cables and accessories to link Al Dhafra, the world’s largest solar plant in Abu Dhabi, with the Emirate’s main TRANSCO transmission grid (Abu Dhabi Transmission and Despatch Company) through its specialised division, Ducab HV. This collaborative project partnership also covers testing and commissioning to ensure the highest levels of excellence in electric transmission.
Making the announcement during Ducab’s 14th participation in the Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (WETEX), Mohammad Almutawa, CEO of Ducab Group, said: “We are proud that Ducab is assisting the nation in achieving its “Energy Strategy 2050”. Al Dhafra project further demonstrates the company’s engineering and technology capabilities in delivering the highest standards in cabling solutions. Ducab now supplies cables for the three largest solar projects in the UAE. And, through our ongoing collaborations with different solar power projects, we continue to reflect Ducab’s key role in supporting the UAE to overcome climate change and reduce carbon emissions, in line with the country’s ‘Energy Strategy 2050’ that aims to increase the contribution of clean energy in the total energy mix from 25% to 50% by 2050.”
Al Dhafra project is the latest major renewable power project awarded to the UAE-headquartered cabling company. Ducab’s custom-made SolarBICC cables have been supplied to Abu Dhabi’s Shams 1 project and Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai, two of the largest solar projects in the world.
As a champion of the “Made in the UAE” initiative, Ducab not only supplies solutions to leading power projects in the UAE but also supports products and counterparts in auxiliary industries to deepen the country’s industrial capabilities. Ducab works with partners across the entire UAE industrial value chain, such as EGA, KIZAD, and Borouge, while acquiring many of its requirements from UAE-based organizations.
The Al Dhafra facility will deploy technologically advanced bifacial solar panels that deliver electricity at the highest efficiency levels by using both the front and back of panels. The facility will have a capacity of two gigawatts and supply power to Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC). When fully operational Al Dhafra will be the world’s largest single-site solar power plant, mitigating 2.4 million tonnes of CO2 annually, and using 3.5 million solar panels to generate enough electricity for approximately 160,000 homes across the UAE.
