Dubai: The fifth phase at Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the world’s largest single-site solar park in Dubai, will provide clean energy to over 270,000 residences in Dubai, officials revealed on Monday.
The figure was among the updates announced during a visit to the solar park by Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), who inspected the work progress of the projects at the site.
The fifth phase will also reduce 1.18 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually; it will be commissioned in stages until 2023. In total, the solar park has a planned capacity of 5,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030.
The 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.
During his visit, Al Tayer was briefed by Shuaa Energy 3 officials on the progress made in the 2nd and 3rd projects of the 5th 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.
Progress update
Work on the 900MW 5th 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.
The 5th phase is being implemented using the latest solar technologies that 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 also 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.
Fourth phase
Al Tayer also inspected the work progress at the 950MW 4th phase, with investments up to Dh15.78 billion. He was briefed on the work progress in the 4th phase, which is the largest single-site project that combines Concentrated Solar Power and photovoltaic technology using the IPP model. The overall construction of the project is 90 per cent complete.
The 4th phase will provide clean energy for around 320,000 residences and reduce 1.6 million tonnes of carbon emissions every year. 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 4th phase uses three hybrid technologies to produce clean energy: 600MW from a parabolic basin complex, 100MW from the world’s tallest solar power tower at 262.44m, and 250MW from photovoltaic solar panels.
Current capacity
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.
