Tender for 900MW phase of 5GW solar park in UAE

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has launched a tender for the interested firms to develop the next 900 MW phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar project based on the Independent Power Project (IPP) model.

The project will be built as the fifth phase of the 5-GW complex in Seih Al-Dahal, south of Dubai. It will be developed in stages with the initial phase to start operation in the second quarter of 2021.

Proposals for the project are accepted until August 22, 2019. DEWA has received letters of intent from 64 companies in the previous stages of the competitive selection.

The selected winner of the tender will own 40% of the company that operates the project while the remaining majority stakes will be owned by DEWA. The government utility will also serve as the power off-taker under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA).

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar project is a part of "Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050" that aims to reach 75% of energy being produced from the renewable sources by 2050. With this strategy, Dubai aims to be the city with the lowest carbon footprint in the world by 2050. Dubai is the only city in the region to have launched such a promising strategy, with set goals and timelines that map the future of energy until 2050. Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the largest single-site solar energy project in the world, with a planned total production capacity of 5 GW by 2030, and a total investment of AED 50 billion (USD 13.6 billion).

The project features the following phases:

• 1st Phase 13 MW using photovoltaic solar panels became operational on 22 October 2013
• 2nd Phase 200 MW using photovoltaic solar panels
• 3rd Phase 800 MW using photovoltaic solar panels
• 4th Phase 950MW of concentrated solar power and photovoltaic solar panels is the largest single-site Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project in the world, based on the IPP model. The fourth phase will use three technologies to produce clean energy: 600MW from a parabolic basin complex, 100MW from a concentrated solar tower, and 250MW from photovoltaic panels. It will have the world’s tallest solar tower, at 260 metres.
• 5th Phase 900 MW using photovoltaic solar panels