Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Rule of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has unveiled the fifth phase of the solar park named after him.
Dubbed the largest single-site solar park, its fifth phase will provide clean energy to approximately 270,000 homes in Dubai at a capacity of 900 megawatts (MW). The fifth phase is part of a plan to produce 5,000 MW of power for Dubai by 2030.
The 5th phase cost AED 2 billion ($540 million) to build. It follows the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model and will reduce annual carbon emissions by 1.18 million tonnes. Once the entire MBR Solar Park, costing AED 50 billion ($13.6 billion), is fully operational, it is expected to reduce 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
To maximize energy production and efficiency, the fifth phase uses the latest solar photovoltaic bifacial technologies with Single Axis Tracking.
The project is a partnership between DEWA (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority), holding a 60 percent stake, and a consortium led by ACWA Power and Gulf Investment Corporation, with a 40 percent stake through Shuaa Energy 3.
It is worth mentioning here that DEWA set a world record by securing the lowest bid of $1.6953 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for the fifth phase.
Including the new fifth phase, the solar park’s total commissioned capacity is now 2,427 MW. It combines photovoltaic solar panels and concentrated solar power (CSP). As a result, the share of clean energy in Dubai’s energy mix has increased to about 16.3 percent of the total installed capacity, which is now 14,917 MW.
Sheikh Mohammed visited the solar park and was greeted by Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the Managing Director and CEO of DEWA.
An interesting feature of the fifth phase is its use of artificial intelligence (AI) in an advanced robotic cleaning system for the operation and maintenance of photovoltaic panels. The fifth phase covers an area of around 10 square kilometers, which is half the size of the third phase that generates 800 MW.