Construction of Phase Four of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is progressing at pace and stands at over 30% complete. Once ready, the fourth phase will generate 950 megawatts (MW) at an investment of $4.29bn.
Phase Four boasts Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and photovoltaic technology. According to a statement from DEWA, this phase has the capacity to provide clean energy for 320,000 residences and will help reduce 1.6m tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
The scope of work on this phase of the project includes the construction of the world’s tallest 260m solar tower and the world’s largest global thermal storage capacity of 15 hours; allowing for energy availability round-the-clock, DEWA said.
Phase Four will leverage three technologies to produce 950MW of clean energy, said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, while on an inspection visit to the site. He was accompanied by Waleed Salman, executive VP of Business Development and Excellence at DEWA and Jamal Shaheen Al Hammadi, VP of Clean Energy & Diversification, and a number of DEWA officials.
Al Tayer said the project will feature 700MW of CSP, 600MW from a parabolic basin complex and 100MW from a solar tower and 250MW from photovoltaic solar panels.
During the visit, Abdul Hamid Al Muhaidib, the executive managing director of Noor Energy 1, briefed Al Tayer on construction progress. Noor Energy 1 is a JV between DEWA, Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power, and China’s Silk Road Fund.
Discussing project progress, Al Muhaidib said more than 30% of the work on Phase Four has been completed, with the central solar tower climbing beyond 50m. The foundation of molten salt tanks and turbines has also been finished, he stated. The parabolic trough (PT) production line was recently inaugurated to produce the first of 63,600 units, the statement said.
The overall progress of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park had reached 16%. Scheduled for fully completion in 2030, it will boast 5,000MW of clean energy generation capacity.
