Dubai doubles capacity of mega Solar Park

Capacity of Phase II of the Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, due in 2017, raised to 200MW

Dubai: Saeed Mohammad Al Tayer, Managing Director & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), has announced that the production capacity of the second phase of the Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum SolarPark will be increased from 100MW to 200MW.

The announcement was made at a press conference held on Thursday at Grand Hyatt hotel in Dubai in which Dewa selected Saudi ACWA and Spain’s TSK for the project.

Phase II of the Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is a photovoltaic plant that will be based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model and will be operational by April 2017.

Renewable project

“Today, Dewa adds another solar facility at the Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is one of the largest renewable energy projects in the region.

"This is in line with directives of His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, to produce renewable energy locally, sustain our precious resources and support the growth of a promising new sector, and in alignment with the Green Economy for Sustainable Development initiative launched by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and his vision, which sets the roadmap for our developmental initiatives and projects, and to implement the Dubai Plan 2021 to enhance sustainability and create a happy society that meets the aspirations of citizens and residents, DEWA is adding another solar plant at the Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is one of the largest renewable energy projects in the region."

With a planned total cost of Dh12 billion, the Solar Park will produce 1,000 MW of electricity when completed in 2030, said Al Tayer.

“As you know, the Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park supports the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 developed by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy to diversify Dubai’s energy mix. Solar energy will account for 1% of Dubai’s total energy production by 2020 and 5% by 2030,” added Al Tayer.

“To establish the position of Dubai as a global hub for trade, finance, tourism, and sustainability, and a role model worldwide in achieving the highest standards in energy efficiency and increasing the share of renewable energy, I am pleased to announce that the production capacity of the second phase of the Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park has been increased from 100MW to 200MW. It is one of the biggest strategic new Independent Power Producer (IPP) projects in the renewable energy market worldwide.

The conference was attended by Mohammad Abunayyan, Chairman of Saudi ACWA, which leads the consortium, along with Spain’s TSK, Gregory Thomassin, Project Manager and financial advisor at KPMG, and CamiloVaras, Technical Advisor at Lahmeyer International.

The conference was also attended by Waleed Salman, EVP of Strategy and Business Development at DEWA, along with EVPs, VPs, DEWA staff, and a large number of media representatives.

Consortium selected

“The consortium led by ACWA and TSK was selected as a preferred bidder based on its proposal for 200MW with a LCOE (Levelised Cost of Energy) of approximately 5.85 (5.84869) USD cents/kWh,” noted Al Tayer.

Bids were reviewed and we selected the best bid according to the criteria developed by the advisory committee that oversees the project.

Dewa received 49 qualification documents for phase II of the Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

“In response to its open request for qualifications, which was released in May 2014, we formed a consortium, led by KPMG, as financial consultant, Lahmeyer International, as technical consultant, and Norton Rose Fulbright as legal consultant. Dewa shortlisted 24 developers for the second phase of the bid, which was released on 22 July 2014.

“Dewa received ten proposals from consortia formed by the world’s leading power companies. The consortium led by ACWA Power and TSK submitted the lowest recorded LCOE for a solar PV IPP project at 5.98 USD cents/kWh, which was the lowest recorded bid received for a solar photovoltaic IPP project.”

“The number of bidders, and the competitive price we received, demonstrates the trust that international investors have both in Dubai and in Dewa, and is a testament of our transparency in all our projects in addition to Dewa’s strong financial position. Dewa has been upgraded lately by Moody’s to Baa2, and Standard & Poor’s has given a credit rating of BBB.”