Dubai to start importing clean energy from Hatta power plant in April

Clean energy will soon be exported from Hatta to Dubai, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) announced on Sunday.

The pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant in Hatta will begin to gradually export clean energy to Dubai in April.

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The project, which is the first of its kind in the GCC region, has reached 96.82 per cent level, the authority stated. Operational tests of the clean energy power plant began in January.

The power plant will have a production capacity of 250 megawatts (MW), a storage capacity of 1,500 megawatt-hours and a life span of up to 80 years.

The announcement was made on Sunday during an inspection visit by Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of (DEWA) to review progress on the power plant.

The Dh1.421 billion project is designed to generate electricity using water stored in the Hatta Dam and a newly constructed upper dam in the mountains.

Al Tayer stated that the project supports the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050, which aim to provide 100% of Dubai’s total power production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.

During the visit, Al Tayer was briefed on the latest construction work, including the recent completion of generator installations. Preparations are currently under way for a trial operation in the first quarter of 2025.

The visit also included an inspection of the plant’s upper dam, which features a 72-metre-high main wall and a 37-metre-high side dam, which has been filled in preparation for trial operation.

The hydroelectric power plant is designed as an energy storage facility with a turnaround efficiency of 78.9%. It uses the potential energy of water stored in the upper dam, converting it into kinetic energy as it flows through a 1.2-kilometre subterranean tunnel. This kinetic energy rotates the turbines, converting mechanical energy into electrical energy, which can be delivered to DEWA’s grid within 90 seconds to meet demand.

To store energy, clean power generated at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park will be used to pump water back to the upper dam, converting electrical power into kinetic energy during the process.

(With inputs from WAM)