Dubai Electricity and Water Authority is set to commission the world’s tallest concentrated solar power (CSP) tower located within the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, in September.
Standing tall at 262.44 m, the tower has a capacity of 100 MW in addition to 200 MW from parabolic trough.
This is the largest single-site solar investment project of its kind in the world. It combines CSP and photovoltaic solar panels, with a capacity of 950 MW, with investments totalling AED16 billion, said the statement from Dewa.
This phase is characterised by the largest storage capacity in the world for 15 hours, which allows for around-the-clock energy production.
In July, Dewa will commission the 300-MW first stage of the Solar Park Phase Five, which will have a capacity of 900 megawatts using photovoltaic solar panels, it added.
Meanwhile, Dewa is all set to launch its Green Hydrogen project, a first-of-its-kind facility in the Middle East and North Africa, it will produce green hydrogen using solar energy.
Dewa’s approach is based on scientific foundations and pilot projects, including the green hydrogen pilot project, which will build national capabilities and competencies, and will promote the development of green hydrogen projects in the UAE, remarked Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa).
This will be in line with the model Dewa adopted in the projects of Maktoum Solar Park, in which its first phase began with a pilot project with a capacity of 13 megawatts. The total production capacity of the solar park’s operational phases is currently 1,013 megawatts.
The projects currently under construction have a total capacity of 1,850 megawatts, with future phases to reach 5,000 megawatts by 2030.
On its other key projects, Al Tayer said tunneling operations have already begun on the 250 MW hydroelectric power station in Hatta with the over 20 per cent project work completed.
“We have a clear approach for the energy sector in line with the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to provide 75 percent of Dubai’s total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2050. We are using the latest Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Blockchain to enhance energy efficiency and increase the happiness of all stakeholders including customers,” remarked Al Tayer.
“The share of clean energy capacity in Dubai’s energy mix has increased to around 9 percent. This exceeds the percentage set in the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy to provide 7 percent of Dubai’s total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2020,” he added.
