Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, DEWA, has said that 80 percent of the second phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is complete, as of mid-December.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the largest single-site solar park in the world based on the Independent Power Producer model (IPP). The second phase is the first and largest of its kind in the UAE and will eventually generate 200 megawatts (MW) of electricity by April 2017. To date, 75 percent of the 2.2 million photovoltaic panels have been installed. During the installation, no injuries were recorded, with over 1 million safe man hours logged.

Mohammad Abdullah Abunayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power, and Abdulhameed Al Muhaidib, Managing Director of Shuaa Energy 1, briefed Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, in detail about the implementation process.

They showed the construction, operations, and engineering progress, to ensure that the project is delivered on time. At the time, DEWA set a world record by obtaining the lowest price globally for the second phase, at a price of US Cents 5.6 per kilowatt hour (kW/h).

The project occupies 4.5 square kilometres with an investment of about AED1.2 billion. Shuaa Energy 1 is a company established by DEWA to complete the project according to UAE legislation. DEWA is the majority shareholder at 51 percent with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, and the Spanish industrial group TSK taking the remaining stake. DEWA is working closely with Shuaa Energy 1 to ensure that the second phase of the park is operational by April 2017.

"DEWA is inspired by the vision of Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in all its projects and initiatives. All projects included in the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park adhere to the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, to transform Dubai into a global centre for clean energy and green economy. The strategy sets the target to generate 5,000MW of solar power by 2030. Clean energy will generate 7% of Dubai’s total power output by 2020, 25% by 2030, and 75% by 2050," said Al Tayer.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park has a planned capacity of 1,000 MW by 2020 and 5,000 MW by 2030, and a total investment of AED 50 billion (USD 13.6 billion) and will eventually save approximately 6.5 million tonnes per annum in emissions. The World Expo will be connected to the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which will provide it with 200MW of power.