Production in Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park increases to 330MW

The clean energy share is currently 11.38 per cent of Dubai’s energy mix, and will reach 13.3 per cent in Q1 2022

by Gulf Business

January 17, 2022

The production capacity of the first project of the fifth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park has increased from 300 megawatts (MW) to 330MW.

The 900MW fifth phase, with investments of Dhs2.058bn, is now 60 percent complete.

The announcement was made on Sunday by Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA).

“The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park [is] the largest single-site solar park in the world. It has a planned capacity of 5,000MW by 2030. The clean energy share is currently 11.38 per cent of Dubai’s energy mix, and it will reach 13.3 per cent in Q1 of 2022,” said Al Tayer, according to the Dubai Media Office.

“The current capacity at the Solar Park is 1,527MW using solar photovoltaic panels. DEWA is implementing more projects with a total capacity of 1,333MW using solar photovoltaic and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) in addition to future phases to reach 5,000MW by 2030.”

He added that DEWA has attracted around Dhs40bn of investments and received the lowest global solar energy prices five consecutive times, making Dubai a benchmark for solar energy prices.

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD&CEO of DEWA, announced that the production capacity of the first project of the fifth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park has increased from 300 to 330MW as a result of using the latest solar photovoltaic bifacial technologies. pic.twitter.com/wCpyGjsSa1

— DEWA | Official Page (@DEWAOfficial) January 16, 2022

In November 2019, DEWA announced the consortium led by ACWA Power and Gulf Investment Corporation as the Preferred Bidder to build and operate the 900MW fifth phase of the solar park, using photovoltaic solar panels based on the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) model. To implement the project, DEWA established Shuaa Energy 3 in partnership with the consortium led by ACWA Power and Gulf Investment Corporation.

DEWA owns 60 percent of the company, and the consortium owns the remaining 40 percent.

By way of 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.

Waleed Bin Salman, executive vice president of Business Development and Excellence at DEWA, said that work in the fifth phase of the Solar Park is proceeding as per the targeted timelines. The second project is now 57 per cent complete. He added that the fifth phase will provide clean energy for more than 270,000 residences in Dubai and will reduce 1.18 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually and will become operational in stages until 2023.

Last week, DEWA launched the DEWA-SAT 1 nanosatellite in collaboration with NanoAvionics. It was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex in Florida, making the entity the world’s first utility to use a nanosatellite to improve the maintenance and planning of electricity and water networks.

Read: Video: DEWA launches nanosatellite to aid network planning and maintenance in UAE

Last year, the UAE announced a new Net Zero 2050 Strategic Initiative to reduce carbon emissions. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said that the UAE will spend over Dhs600bn on renewable energy until 2050. The UAE plans 50 per cent of its energy to come from renewable sources by 2050. The UAE is targeting an energy mix that combines renewable, nuclear and clean energy sources.