Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), announced that the entity had added 300 megawatts of photovoltaic solar energy in 2022 from the 5th phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the world’s largest single-site solar park using the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model.
By 2030, Solar Park will be able to produce 5,000 megawatts (MW). With a total investment of AED2.058 billion and a capacity of 900 MW, the fifth phase is now under construction. Up to 2023, it will be in operation in stages.
Al Tayer said “We are also prepared to meet the growing demand for electricity and water services according to the highest availability, reliability, efficiency and quality standards. We strive to keep pace with demand by implementing pioneering projects to diversify sources of energy production to include various clean and renewable energy sources and technologies in Dubai and expand the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park projects. This will help achieve the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100% of Dubai’s total power production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.”
Al Tayer pointed out that the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park’s current production capacity has increased to 1,827MW using photovoltaic solar panels by adding 300MW from the 900MW fifth phase. At the Solar Park, DEWA is carrying out additional projects totalling 1,033MW using PV and concentrated solar power (CSP). About 12.8% of Dubai’s 14,317 MW of installed capacity is made up of clean energy. By the end of 2022, this percentage is anticipated to reach 14%.
Using the IPP model, the 4th phase of the solar park will have a capacity of 950 MW with an investment of AED 15.78 billion, making it the single-site solar power plant that has both CSP and solar photovoltaic technologies.
This phase will use three hybrid technologies: 600MW from a parabolic basin complex (three units of 200MW each), 100MW from the world’s tallest solar power tower at 262.44 metres (based on Molten Salt technology), and 250MW from photovoltaic solar panels.
The project will be completed with the greatest thermal storage capacity in the world—15 hours—enabling continuous access to energy. With the help of the fourth phase, 320,000 homes will have access to clean energy, and 1.6 million tonnes of carbon emissions will be averted annually. The fourth phase, which employs photovoltaic solar panels, has a total installed capacity of 217MW.
