Solar Power

Solar Park 4th phase 30pc completed

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park: the world’s largest single-site IPP solar park

More than 30 per cent of the work on Phase Four of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the world’s largest single-site independent power producer (IPP) solar park being built at an investment of Dh50 billion ($13.6 billion), has been completed.

Phase Four of the mega solar project will boast both concentrated solar power (CSP) and photovoltaic technology to provide clean energy for 320,000 residences and also help reduce 1.6 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually, said a statement from Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa).

Once ready, the fourth phase will generate 950 megawatts (MW) with an investment of Dh15.78 billion ($4.29 billion), it stated.

The scope of work includes the construction of the world’s tallest 260-m solar tower and the world’s largest global thermal storage capacity of 15 hours, allowing for energy availability round-the-clock, it added.

Phase Four of the project will use three technologies to produce 950 MW of clean energy, said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dewa, while on an inspection visit to the project site.

He was accompanied by Waleed Salman, executive vice-president of Business Development and Excellence at Dewa; Jamal Shaheen Al Hammadi, vice-president of Clean Energy & Diversification; and a number of Dewa officials.

Al Tayer said the project will produce 700 MW of CSP - 600 MW from a parabolic basin complex and 100 MW from a solar tower; and 250 MW from photovoltaic solar panels, he added.

Al Tayer: taking stock

Al Tayer: taking stock

During the visit, Abdul Hamid Al Muhaidib, the executive managing director of Noor Energy 1, briefed Al Tayer about the construction progress.

Noor Energy 1 is a joint venture between Dewa, Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power, and China’s Silk Road Fund to build the Phase Four.

On the project progress, Al Muhaidib said more than 30 per cent of the work on Phase Four has been completed with the central solar tower going beyond 50 m. The foundation of molten salt tanks and turbines too is also ready, he stated.

The parabolic trough (PT) production line was recently inaugurated to produce the first of 63,600 units.

The overall progress of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park had reached 16 per cent. Once completed by 2030, it will boast 5,000 MW capacity.

 

WORK ON TRACK

Meanwhile, Dewa said steady progress was being made on the new Innovation Centre being set up as part of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park project.

The Innovation Centre, the Dubai utility said was part of its efforts to highlight the latest solar and clean energy technologies.

It will enable Dewa to show its achievements in renewable energy and sustainability as well as the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, to secure its energy supply by diversifying the energy mix to provide 75 per cent of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy by 2050, said a statement from Dewa.

The Innovation Centre aims to support the UAE’s capabilities in energy, boost the competitiveness of Dubai’s business, develop renewable-energy technologies and support its regional development, and promote awareness of climate change and sustainable energy as well as create special, interactive presentations, and educational trips for guests on solar power.

On completion, the innovation centre will house a museum and an exhibition area for solar power and renewable energy events that will attract individuals, tourists, university students, schools, and businesses, it added.

Al Tayer said: “The Innovation Centre was designed according to the highest standards for sustainable buildings, and includes the latest technologies. The building has an entire floor dedicated to highlighting Dewa’s experiences in energy and water, their development, and the progress in this vital sector of solar power as a clean source of energy.”

The building has four floors covering 4,000 sq m and is approximately 90 m high. It will also host a permanent conference centre for events, conferences, business meetings, training courses, and meetings about solar power, renewable energy, and other green and sustainable initiatives.

“The centre also offers visitors the opportunity to see other forms of clean energy generation, including wind and modern methods of desalination,” stated Al Tayer.

He was accompanied by Waleed Salman, executive vice president of business development and excellence at Dewa; Mohammed Al Shamsi, vice president of civil projects engineering and water maintenance; Jamal Shaheen Al Hammadi, vice president of clean energy and diversification at Dewa; and a number of Dewa officials.


 

DEWA SECURES LOWEST BID FOR PHASE FIVE
 

DUBAI Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) said it has received the lowest bid of $1.6953 cents per kilowatt hour (kW/h) for the 900-MW Phase Five of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park for using photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, based on the independent power producer (IPP) model.

This phase will become operational in stages starting in Q2 of 2021, said a statement from the Dubai utility.

Dewa said it is building three other projects with a total capacity of 1,250 MW. The 900-MW Phase Five of the solar park will increase its production capacity to 2,863 MW, it added.

Lauding the achievement, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the managing director and CEO, said: “For the fifth time, Dewa has achieved a world record in getting the lowest price for PV solar power projects based on the IPP model. This shows the priority our wise leadership gives to clean and renewable energy projects, which has contributed to its global cost reduction.”

“The projects at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world, are of great interest to international developers and reaffirms investor confidence in the major projects that are supported by the government of Dubai,” noted Al Tayer.

“Dewa has attracted huge investments to the UAE from the private sector and foreign banks, leading to increased cash flow to the economy of Dubai and the UAE,” he added.

Al Tayer said achieving the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to provide 75 per cent of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy by 2050, requires a capacity of 42,000 MW of clean and renewable energy by 2050.

Executive vice-president (Business Development and Excellence) Waleed Salman said Dewa had released the tender for the Phase Five in February, and received 60 Requests for Qualifications (RFQ) from developers for construction and operation of the 900-MW project using PV solar panels. “After studying the proposals, nine consortiums and companies qualified, and were invited to send their bids,” stated Salman, adding that the winning bid would be announced this month.