Work on Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is progressing as per schedule

The work on Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is progressing as per schedule and will boost clean energy share in Dubai Electricity and Water Authority's total power generation to reach 14 per cent by the end of 2022, according to Dewa.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), inspected the work progress at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world with a planned total capacity of 5,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030.

"Work in the 900MW fifth phase with investments totalling Dh2.058 billion is progressing as planned. The second project is 93.3 per cent complete while the third project is 23.06 per cent complete," Dewa said in statement on Monday.

The fifth phase will provide clean energy to over 270,000 residences in Dubai and will reduce 1.18 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually. It will be commissioned in stages until 2023.

Al Tayer was briefed by Shuaa Energy 3 officials, on the progress made in the second and third projects of the fifth phase of the solar park. Waleed bin Salman, executive vice-president of Business Development and Excellence at Dewa, and the project’s team were present on the occasion.

Dewa is implementing the fifth phase in partnership with a consortium led by ACWA Power and Gulf Investment Corporation using the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model. In 2019, the authority achieved a world record by receiving the lowest bid of $1.6953 cents per kilowatt hour (Levelised Cost of Energy) for this phase.

The fifth phase will be implemented by Shuaa Energy 3, established by Dewa, which owns 60 per cent of the shares and the consortium led by ACWA Power and Gulf Investment Corporation which owns 40 per cent of the rest of the shares.

The fifth phase is being implemented using the latest solar photovoltaic bifacial technologies, which allows solar radiation to reach the front and back of the panels, with single-axis tracking to increase generation.

Using fully automated robots to clean the solar panels without any human intervention, will increase efficiency. Since its commercial operations last year, the first project whose production capacity has increased from 300MW to 330MW, has been recording higher-than-expected performance.

The solar park’s projects constitute one of the key pillars of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy to provide 100 per cent of Dubai’s total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.

Fourth phase progress

Al Tayer also inspected the work progress at the 950MW fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The fourth phase uses the IPP model with investments up to Dh15.78 billion.

He was briefed by Noor Energy 1 officials on the work progress in the fourth phase, which is the largest single-site project that combines Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and photovoltaic technology using the IPP model. The overall construction of the project is 90 per cent complete.

A consortium led by Dewa and ACWA Power formed a project company, Noor Energy 1, to design, build, and operate the fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. Dewa owns 51 per cent of the company while ACWA Power holds 25 per cent, and the Chinese Silk Road Fund owns 24 per cent.

The fourth phase of the Solar Park uses three hybrid technologies to produce clean energy: 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.

On its completion, the project will have the largest thermal storage capacity in the world of 15 hours, allowing for energy availability round the clock. The fourth phase will provide clean energy for around 320,000 residences and reduce 1.6 million tonnes of carbon emissions every year.

The current capacity at the Solar Park is 1,627MW using solar photovoltaic panels. Dewa is implementing more projects with a total capacity of 1,233MW using solar photovoltaic and CSP.

Dewa’s installed capacity has reached 14,117 MW of electricity. Clean energy share in Dubai’s energy mix has reached 11.5 per cent and is expected to reach 14 per cent by the end of 2022.

— muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com