Dewa boosts MBR Solar Park V production capacity to 330MW
DUBAI, January 16, 2022
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has announced that it has raised the production capacity of the first project of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park (MBR Solar) Park Phase V from 300 megawatts (MW) to 330MW.
This results from using the latest solar photovoltaic bifacial technologies with Single Axis Tracking to increase energy production, said the statement from the company.
The 900MW fifth phase, which is being developed at an investment of AED2.06 billion ($560 million), stands 60 per cent complete with 4.225 million safe working hours without injuries, it added.
In November 2019, Dewa had announced the consortium led by Acwa Power and Gulf Investment Corporation as the preferred bidder to build and operate the 900MW 5th phase of the MBR Solar, using photovoltaic solar panels based on the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) model.
To implement the project, the Dubai utility established Shuaa Energy 3 in partnership with a consortium led by the winning bidders with a 60 percent stake in the company.
Dewa had achieved a world record by receiving the lowest bid of $1.6953 cents per kilowatt hour (kW/h) for this phase.
Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dewa, said the MBR Solar is the largest single-site solar park in the world with a planned capacity of 5,000MW by 2030.
"The clean energy share is currently 11.38 percent of Dubai’s energy mix, and it will reach 13.3 percent in Q1 of 2022. The current capacity at the Solar Park is 1527MW using solar photovoltaic panels. Dewa is implementing more projects with a total capacity of 1,333MW using solar photovoltaic and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) in addition to future phases to reach 5,000MW by 2030," he noted.
Since its launch, the solar park’s projects have received considerable interest from global developers, which reflects the confidence of investors from around the world in Dewa's major projects in collaboration with the private sector using the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model.
"Through this model, Dew has attracted around AED40 billion of investments and received the lowest global solar energy prices five consecutive times, making Dubai a global benchmark for solar energy prices," he added.
Waleed Bin Salman, Executive VP of Business Development and Excellence, said that work in the fifth phase of the Solar Park is going on as per the targeted timeline.
The second project is now 57 percent complete, stated Bin Salman.
The fifth phase will provide clean energy for more than 270,000 residences in Dubai and will reduce 1.18 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually. It will become operational in stages until 2023, he added.
