Dubai, UAE: H.E. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), has announced that DEWA will launch Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) projects that will generate 1,000 MW by 2030, to carry out the directives of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The announcement was made at a press conference attended by Executive Vice Presidents, Vice Presidents and senior officials of DEWA.

DEWA has said that it intends to build the largest CSP project in the world, using the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model, and has already released a tender for international CSP consultants to submit their proposals for advisory services for the 200 MW first project of the CSP plant, which will be operational by April 2021.

The project, DEWA said, is the result of Dubai’s significant achievements in solar energy to support the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, launched by His Highness, to provide 7% of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy sources by 2020, 25% by 2030, and 75% by 2050. The utility added that it is working to diversify Dubai’s energy mix to include 61% from natural gas, 25% from solar energy, 7% from clean coal and 7% from nuclear power by 2030, and gradually increase the employment of clean energy sources to 75% by 2050.

The utility highlighted that by 2030, it will generate 1,000 MW using this technology in the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, purportedly the largest single-site solar park in the world, which uses the IPP model. While the 13 MW first phase became operational in October 2013, the 200 MW second phase will be operational in April 2017, said DEWA, and added that when it’s completed, the project will achieve a reduction of approximately 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

Al Tayer revealed that DEWA has received a globally competitive price of USD 2.99 cents per kilowatt hour for the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park’s 800 MW third phase.

“An important advantage of CSP is that thermal heat, which is used to produce electricity, can be stored easily, which makes it possible to produce electricity after sunset,” explained Al Tayer. He continued: “The plant will have several thousand heliostats located around a tower that receives the radiation reflected by the heliostats which follow the sun’s movement. The heat-transfer fluid is then used to power the steam turbine to generate electricity. The project will use thermal storage for 8-12 hours daily, taking into account technical and economic factors.”  This, he added, will contribute to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of production, meet the requirements of the electricity grid, provide sustainable energy supply in terms of availability and reliability, support the sustainable development of the Emirate and also contribute to making Dubai the city with the “lowest carbon footprint in the world” by 2050.

He added: “Today’s announcement of the first CSP project will be followed by other major projects to diversify Dubai’s energy mix. This will contribute to achieving the vision of our wise leadership to make Dubai number one globally, and our vision to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility.”