Gulf Construction Online - Al Maktoum Solar Park to expand capacity

UAE Focus

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park ... Dh16 billion of investments.

Al Maktoum Solar Park to expand capacity

01 December 2018

The total capacity of Phase Four of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park project will rise from 700 MW to 950 MW, following a deal between Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) and a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power.

Dewa has signed an amendment to the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the consortium which includes adding 250 MW of photovoltaic solar panels, at a cost of 2.4 US cents per kilowatt hour, the world’s lowest.

The agreement was signed by Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the managing director and chief executive of Dewa and Mohammad Abdullah Abunayyan, the chairman of Acwa Power in the presence of Ishaq Al Hammadi, the managing director at Acwa Power-UAE and Abdul Hamid Al Muhaidib, the executive managing director of Noor Energy 1.

Noor Energy 1 was launched in a partnership between Dewa, Acwa Power and China’s Silk Road Fund to build Phase Four of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

Following the amendment, the total investment for the ambitious project has reached Dh16 billion ($4.3 billion). This move is in line with Dewa’s efforts to achieve the objectives of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050.

Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said: “The capacity expansion of the Al Maktoum Solar Park’s further consolidates the UAE’s leadership in the field of sustainable development and provides another impetus to our clean energy strategy.”

“The UAE’s leaders accord this sector high priority in their vision for the nation’s future. Furthermore, being at the forefront of technological advancement in this sector is critical to Dubai’s aspiration of becoming one of the leading cities of the world. We see this project being a unique model for large clean energy projects elsewhere in the world,” stated Sheikh Hamdan.

“This ambitious initiative also adds a new facet to our cooperation with two of our strongest partners, Saudi Arabia and China. The project brings together a distinctive combination of advanced knowledge and expertise to create the largest single-site solar park in the world,” he added.

According to Dewa, the project will use three technologies to produce clean energy: 600 MW from a parabolic basin complex, 100 MW from a solar tower and 250 MW from photovoltaic panels.

The fourth phase is the largest investment project in the world using concentrated solar power (CSP) on a single site, and is based on the independent power producer (IPP) model, said the Dubai utility firm.

This project has already achieved many world records. It achieved the lowest Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) of 7.3 cents per kilowatt hour (kW/h) for the CSP technology. It will have the world’s tallest solar tower at 260 m, and the largest thermal energy storage capacity in the world of 15 hours, which allows for energy generation round the clock, it added.