DEWA signs 25-year power purchase agreement for fifth phase of MBR Solar Park
To implement the project, DEWA establishes Shuaa Energy 3 in a 60:40 partnership with the consortium led by Acwa Power and GIC
The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for the 900MW fifth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The move is in support of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, which outlines that 75% of Dubai’s total power output come from clean energy by 2050.
The fifth phase will use photovoltaic solar panels and will be commissioned in stages starting from the third quarter of 2021, said a statement from DEWA. In November last year, DEWA announced the consortium led by Acwa Power and Gulf Investment Corporation as the preferred bidder to build and operate the fifth phase of the solar park.
“The project will use the latest solar photovoltaic bifacial technologies, which allows solar radiation to reach the front and back of the panels, with single-axis tracking to increase generation,” explained Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, after signing the agreement with Mohammad Abunayyan, chairman of Acwa Power via video conferencing.
The utility company says it achieved a world record by receiving the lowest bid of $1.6953 cents per kilowatt-hour for this phase and 60 Requests for Qualification from international developers.
Al Tayer added, “At DEWA, we are guided by the vision and directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai to make the emirate a global hub for clean energy and green economy. We are building major renewable and clean energy projects. The current operational capacity at the solar park is 1,013MW from photovoltaic solar panels. We have 1,850MW under construction from photovoltaic and Concentrated Solar Power, with future phases to reach 5,000MW by 2030.”
Abunayyan remarked, “The signing of today’s agreement is a testament to the robust strategic partnership we have established with the DEWA, which we are immensely proud of. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the most ambitious and largest project of its kind worldwide that aims to reduce the carbon footprint in Dubai and transform it into a global model in the clean energy and sustainable green economy.”
Abunayyan said the delivery of the project reinforces the durability and competitiveness of Dubai’s economic landscape, which continues its steady and pioneering plans despite the current circumstances and reconfirms the confidence and attractiveness of the investment environment that Dubai spearheads internationally.
