Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), which has awarded the contract, says that Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park phase 4 is the world’s largest single-site concentrated solar power (CSP) project based on independent power producer (IPP) model.
The utility has revealed that the bid placed by the consortium of Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and China-based Shanghai Electric was the lowest levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) at 7.3 cents per kilowatt hour (kW/h).
DEWA MD&CEO Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said: “Our focus on renewable energy generation has led to a drop in prices worldwide and has lowered the price of solar power bids in Europe and the Middle East.”
The CSP project on an area of 3,750 hectares, mostly covered with mirrors, will garner energy from the sun through a combination of a central tower and a field of troughs. As a result, it will have an ability to generate renewable energy during the day and also throughout the night.
According to DEWA, the thermo-solar power plant will feature what will be the tallest solar tower in the world at 260m, estimated to be as tall as Emirates Towers in Dubai.
The financial close and the power purchase agreement are expected to be completed soon, said the utility.
ACWA Power stated that the new Dubai renewable energy facility is anticipated to offset 2.4 million tons of CO2 emissions while meeting the electricity needs of about 568,000 households. The company had committed an equity investment of $750m in the CSP project.
ACWA Power president & CEO Paddy Padmanathan said: “This project is a game changer in our quest to decarbonize electricity generation by making available renewable energy at a price that competes with fossil fuel generated electricity without subsidy not just when the sun is shining but at any time of the day and night.”
The CSP project is being planned to be commissioned in phases, commencing from the fourth quarter of 2020.
Image: DEWA project will have the world’s tallest solar tower, measuring 260 metres Photo: courtesy of AETOS Wire.
