Yingli Green Energy Holding Co., a Chinese solar energy company, said it is contemplating working with Dubai on the city's 100-megawatt (MW) solar energy project.
State utility firm Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is working on the independent power project (IPP) that is part of Dubai's goal of expanding its use of energy by 2030, according to Reuters.
Yingli is listed as the largest supplier of solar panels in the world by volume. The company plans to grow in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Pakistan, Nigeria and other rising markets.
"It is either we will partner with other companies together and then will submit our bid, or it might be that our strategy is we will support this project with services to the participating companies," said Evangelos Lianos, executive director Middle East of Yingli.
Dimitirios Bachadakis, managing director of Yingli, said the company is discussing possible opportunities to work with important utility firms that are preparing tender offers, Emirates 24/7 reported.
"There are a few projects on the table," he said. "We see Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries will announce significant projects in the near future. There is a lot of information being exchanged with local and regional players but nothing concrete as yet."
Yingli is currently opening an office in UAE. Legal formalities are being completed.
"DEWA has made it in a very structured way. When we saw that we were happy," said Lianos. He said July 5th is the deadline for the tender, Reuters reported.
Dubai, along with the rest of the Middle East, is behind the U.S. and Europe in producing solar energy. However, Dubai could build up to 1,000 megawatts of solar power plants to meet its 2030 deadline in time.
Bachadakis said Abu Dhabi has set a 2020 deadline to generate 7 percent of its energy from renewable resources, Emirates 24/7 reported. Dubai's target for renewable energy is 5 percent.
Saudi Arabia is looking to build 54GW of renewable energy by 2032 to double its installed electricity capacity, and will take 41GW of this energy from the Sun. Egypt is looking to invest $1 billion in producing renewable energy, while Algeria is looking to use 22GW by 2030.
