The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has awarded the 700 MW fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park (Dubai Emirate, United Arab Emirates) to a consortium comprising ACWA Power (Saudi Arabia) and China’s Shanghai Electric. The consortium bid the lowest Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) of US$c7.3/kWh and the total amount of the current contract reaches Dhr14.2bn (about US$3.87bn). DEWA also reported that the power purchase agreement related to the project and the financial close are due to be finished shortly.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is a concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project. It will feature a 260-meter tower receiving focused sunlight and its total cost is expected to reach US$13.6bn. It is scheduled to generate 1,000MW by 2020 and 5,000 MW by 2030. The first 13 MW phase (PV, not CSP) came onstream in 2013 while the 200 MW second phase (PV) of the solar park was began operations in March 2017. The 800 MW third phase (PV) is set to become operational by 2020 while the first stage of the 700 MW CSP fourth phase will be commissioned starting from the end of 2020.
The project fits into the framework of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 which intends increase the share of renewable energies in Dubai’s total power output up to 7% by 2020, 25% by 2030, and 75% by 2050.