Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) signed an amendment to the power purchase agreement with the consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power to the fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.
The amendment includes adding 250 megawatt capacity of photovoltaic solar panels, at a cost of 2.4 US cents per kilowatt hour.
With this addition, the total capacity of the fourth phase of the solar park will rise from 700MW to 950MW, and the total investment for the project will increase to AED16 billion ($4.36 billion).
The agreement was signed by Saeed Mohammed al-Tayer, managing director and chief executive of DEWA, and Mohammad Abdullah Abunayyan, chairman of ACWA Power, in the presence of Ishaq al-Hammadi, managing director at ACWA Power-UAE and Abdulhamid al-Muhaidib, executive managing director of Noor Energy 1.
“The capacity expansion of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park’s further consolidates the UAE’s leadership in the field of sustainable development and provides another impetus to our clean energy strategy,” said Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai.
"Clean energy is a strategic option that we are expanding to use to support our development ambitions without affecting the environment we work on protecting and preserving for generations to come," said Sheikh Hamdan.
He expressed his pride in UAE's leadership, which is building an integrated system of clean and renewable energy.
“We are proud of the fact that Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Energy Complex is one of the main pillars of this system, which today serves as a model for the region."
“The UAE’s leaders accord this sector high priority in their vision for the nation’s future... We see this project being a unique model for large clean energy projects elsewhere in the world.”
“This ambitious initiative also adds a new facet to our cooperation with two of our strongest partners, Saudi Arabia and China,” he added.
The project will combine three technologies - a 600MW parabolic basin complex, a 100MW solar tower as well as 250MW of photovoltaic panels.
A consortium of ACWA and China's Shanghai Power had submitted low bids to generate electricity at 7.3 US cents per kilowatt an hour for the phase.
The project will have the world’s tallest solar tower at 260 meters and the largest thermal energy storage capacity in the world of 15 hours, which allows for energy generation round the clock.
