Reuters reported that Spain's Abengoa plans to make a bid to participate in a 500 MW solar power plant in Abu Dhabi before the deadline closes in October.

Mr Pedro Robles CEO of Abengoa said that “We will be lodging a bid for the tender next month and we're optimistic about winning this contract.”

Mr Robles said the intensity of the sun in areas such as Arabia and North Africa has drawn solar power developers to the region. He added that “These areas have 40 per cent more radiation than Spain, if we could capture all the radiation which falls on just 2% of the desert, we would have enough energy to power the planet.”

Abengoa, which has businesses ranging from engineering to environmental services is already present in the Arab Emirate through its IT solutions provider Telvent.

Abengoa's solar unit has projects in other areas of the Arab world including Algeria and Morocco, where it participates in two combined solar and gas power stations.