Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), announced that Phase 4 of the 950-megawatt capacity of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park was 92% complete.
In a press release, the DFM-listed utility stated that 417MW of Phase 4 was connected to the grid. This includes 217MW of photovoltaic solar panels and 200MW from parabolic basins.
Shanghai Electric, the EPC contractor for the project, announced in November 2022 that Trough Unit 1 at the CSP facility had started supplying electricity to its grid.
Phase 4, which is being built under the Independent Power Producer model requires three hybrid technologies. 600MW comes from a parabolic basin complex with three units each of 200MW, 100MW from the world’s tallest solar tower at 262.44 meters (based on Molten Salt technology), 250MW comes from photovoltaic panels. This project will be the largest in terms of thermal storage, with a duration of 15 hours.
The statement stated that Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer (MD & CEO, DEWA) also visited Phase 5 of 900MW, where 600MW was connected to the grid. The remaining 300MW is now 52.9% complete. It will be commissioned by DEWA in 2023.
The fifth phase will be developed with a total investment of AED2.058 billion.
Al Tayer stated during his visit that 14% of Dubai’s electricity production was made up of clean energy. It stated that Dubai’s total electricity production has now reached 14,517MW through the use of PV solar and CSP.
He stated that the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park received a lot of interest from global developers since its launch. This reflects the trust of international investors in DEWA’s major projects, which were developed in collaboration with the private sector under the IPP model. This model has helped DEWA attract around AED40 million in investments. It also received the lowest global solar electricity prices (levelized costs) five times consecutively, making Dubai an international benchmark for solar energy prices.
