Dubai solar park moves into the fourth phase of construction

The Dubai Electricity Water and Authority (Dewa) announced yesterday that construction on the fourth phase of its Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai had begun.

The fourth phase is being developed by Noor Energy 1, a joint partnership between Dewa, Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power and China’s Silk Road Fund.

The total capacity of the fourth phase of the solar park is now projected to be 950MW with investments into this phase totalling Dh16bn, said the managing director and Dewa chief executive Saeed Al Tayer.

Dewa says that the Dhs50bn energy park will generate a total of 5,000 megawatts by 2030. The project is reportedly the world’s largest single-site investment project in concentrated solar power which uses mirrors and lenses to generate energy from the sun.

The solar park features the world’s tallest solar tower that will soar 260 metres over the ground, and it will also have the largest thermal energy storage capacity of 15 hours enabling round-the-clock energy generation said Al Tayer.

The first stage of the project will generate 200MW of power project and is due to be commissioned in late 2020. The solar park aims to generate 1,000 MW by 2020.

The Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 aims to increase the share of clean energy in Dubai’s total power output to 7 per cent by 2020, 25 per cent by 2030, and 75 per cent by 2050.

By 2020, clean energy will produce 1,313MW in Dubai, and the total electricity generation capacity is in the emirate is projected to reach 14,085MW including solar power.