Acwa consortium wins $3.8bn Dubai solar park project

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has awarded a major contract to Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power and China’s Shanghai Electric for developing the Dh14.2-billion ($3.86 billion) Phase Four of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park which will have a 700 MW capacity. The largest single-site concentrated solar power (CSP) project in the world, based on the independent power producer (IPP) model, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park will generate 1,000 MW by 2020 and 5,000 MW by 2030, said a statement from Dewa. The 13-MW photovoltaic first phase became operational in 2013. This was followed by the 200 MW photovoltaic second phase of the solar park in March this year. The 800 MW photovoltaic third phase will be operational by 2020, and the first stage of the 700 MW CSP fourth phase will be commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2020, it stated. According to Dewa, the Acwa-Shanghai consortium bid the lowest levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) of $7.3 cents per kilowatt hour (kW/h). The project will have the world’s tallest solar tower, measuring 260m. The power purchase agreement and the financial close are due to be finished shortly. The project will be commissioned in stages, starting from Q4 of 2020. On the new contract, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the managing director and chief executive of Dewa, said: "Awarding this strategic project supports the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to promote sustainability, and make Dubai a global centre for clean energy and a green economy." "This vision is supported by the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to increase the share of clean energy in the emirate’s total power output to 7 per cent by 2020, 25 per cent by 2030, and 75 per cent by 2050," noted Al Tayer. "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. This was evident today when we received the lowest CSP project cost in the world,"