Acwa Power signs EPC contract with Shanghai Electric for MBR Solar Park
Project will feature the world’s tallest solar tower, measuring 260m
Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power and China’s Shanghai Electric have signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the 700MW fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, it has been announced.
Based on the Independent Power Producer model, the park is the largest Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) investment project in the world. The deal was signed in Shanghai by Mohammad Abdullah Abynayyan, the chairman of Acwa Power, and by Cao Min, the president of Shanghai Electric.
Also present at the signing ceremony was Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Ali Obaid Ali Al Dhaheri, UAE ambassador to China, Turki Al Madi, Saudi Arabia ambassador to China, Zhou Bo, the executive vice mayor of Shanghai Municipality and Zheng Jianhua, the chairman of Shanghai Electric Group, in addition to other senior officials.
Al Tayer said that the agreement was an important milestone that supports the directives of the UAE’s leadership as it looked to achieve the objectives of the UAE Centennial 2071, the UAE Vision 2021 and the Dubai Plan 2021.
“This marks considerable progress in our efforts to achieve the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to provide 75 per cent of Dubai’s total power output from clean sources by 2050. This will transform the Emirate into a global hub for clean energy and green economy; and consolidate its global position as the city with the lowest carbon footprint in the world,” he added.
Al Tayer added that Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park had a planned capacity of 5,000MW by 2030, with a total of $13.6 billion in investments to accelerate diversification to clean energy.
“It is a key pillar in our strategy, considering that our ambitious targets require at least 42,000 MW of renewable energy by 2050,” he noted.
According to Al Tayer, the project will feature the world’s tallest solar tower, measuring 260m, with the largest thermal energy storage capacity. It will allso provide clean energy to over 270,000 residences in Dubai, reducing 1.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year.
The CSP project will use two technologies to generate clean energy – the 600MW parabolic basin complex and the 100MW solar tower, and they will cover 43 sq km. It involves an investment of $3.9 billion and has achieved the world’s lowest Levelised Cost of Electricity of 7.3 cents per kilowatt hour for CSP
