HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), has inspected the construction of the 4^th phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is the largest single-site Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project in the world. Based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model, the fourth phase will generate 950 megawatts (MW) with an investment of AED 15.78 billion.

During the visit, Al Tayer 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 at DEWA; and a number of DEWA officials.

The project will include the construction of the world’s tallest 260-metre solar tower and the world’s largest global thermal storage capacity of 15 hours; allowing for energy availability round the clock. This phase will provide clean energy for 320,000 residences and will reduce 1.6 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

Al Tayer was briefed about the construction progress by Abdul Hamid Al Muhaidib, Executive Managing Director of Noor Energy 1. Noor Energy 1 is a joint venture between DEWA, Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, and China’s Silk Road Fund to build the 4^th phase.

Al Muhaidib stated that more than 30% progress has been achieved with the central solar tower going beyond 50 metres. The foundation of molten salt tanks and turbines has also been completed. The parabolic trough (PT) production line was inaugurated to produce the first of 63,600 units and the overall progress reached 16%.

The fourth phase of the solar park is the largest single-site solar IPP project in the world that combines CSP and photovoltaic technology. The phase will use three technologies to produce 950 megawatts (MW) of clean energy. It will use 700MW of CSP; 600MW from a parabolic basin complex and 100MW from a solar tower; and 250MW from photovoltaic solar panels.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the largest single-site solar park in the world, based on the IPP model. It will generate 5,000MW by 2030 with investments of up to AED 50 billion. The 13MW photovoltaic first phase became operational in 2013. The 200MW photovoltaic second phase of the solar park was operational in March 2017. The 200MW first stage of the 800MW photovoltaic third phase became operational in May 2018. The third phase will be completed in 2020. DEWA has issued a Request for Qualification (RFQ) for developers to build and operate the fifth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, with a capacity of 900MW. The phase will use photovoltaic solar panels based on the IPP model. It will be commissioned in stages starting from Q2 of 2021.