Masdar has signed an agreement worth up to AED5.51bn ($1.5bn) with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) to develop and operate the latter’s 1.8GW sixth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MBR) Solar Park in the UAE.
DEWA selected the Abu Dhabi-based clean energy company from 23 bidders. The latter offered a levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of $1.62 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh).
Located in Dubai, the MBR Solar Park is planned to have a production capacity of 5GW by 2030 with investments totalling AED50bn ($13.61bn).
Currently, it has solar projects with a total production capacity of 2.43GW. DEWA is also developing another solar project with a total capacity of 433MW.
The sixth phase of the MBR Solar Park will grow the total production capacity to 4.66GW.
Once completed, the sixth phase of the solar park is estimated to deliver clean energy to about 540,000 residences.
Besides, it will reduce 2.36 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year.
UAE Prime Minister, Vice President, and Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said: ”This phase will provide clean energy to approximately more than half million residences and will reduce 2.36 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
”All phases will be completed by 2030 with total investments of 50 billion dirhams. Our goal is 100% clean energy for Dubai by 2050”.
The sixth phase is scheduled to become operational in stages beginning from the fourth quarter of 2024.
According to DEWA, the MBR Solar Park is the largest single-site solar park in the world based on the independent power producer (IPP) model.
Phase 1, phase 2, phase 3, phase 4, and phase 5 of the UAE’s solar park possess production capacities of 13MW, 200MW, 800MW, 950MW, and 900MW respectively.
Earlier, Masdar, as part of Shuaa Energy 2 consortium, developed the third phase of the MBR Solar Park. Other partners of the project company were EDF Renewables and DEWA.
Masdar CEO Mohammed Jameel Al Ramahi said: “Following our successful delivery of phase three of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park as part of an international consortium, this latest award once again shows that Masdar is a global leader in clean energy as we move forwards from 20GW capacity today to reach 100GW of clean energy capacity by 2030 driving decarbonisation at home and abroad.”
