Dubai adds 250MW of PV to solar park deal with ACWA Power consortium

It will be priced at 2.4 cents/kWh, one of the lowest in the world.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) amended its Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the consortium comprised of Saudi Arabian firm ACWA Power and China's Shanghai Electric for the fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

According to an announcement, 250MW of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels at a tariff of 2.4 cents/kWh, amongst the lowest in the world, will be added to the capacity of the solar park. This will amp up the capacity of the park from 700MW to 900MW.

This marks increased investment in the project which has already reached $4.36b.

The project will use three technologies to produce clean energy: 600MW from a parabolic basin complex, 100MW from a solar tower and 250MW from photovoltaic panels. The fourth phase of the park utilises concentrated solar power (CSP) on a single site.

The agreement was signed by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA and HE Mohammad Abdullah Abunayyan, chairman of ACWA Power. Ishaq Al Hammadi, managing director at ACWA Power-UAE, and Abdul Hamid Al Muhaidib, executive managing director of Noor Energy 1, were present.

Noor Energy 1 was launched in a partnership between DEWA, ACWA Power, and China’s Silk Road Fund to build the fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.