Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and consortium led by the Saudi Arabian company ACWA Power and consisting of Gulf Investment Corporation sign Power Purchase Agreement for the fifth phase of the world’s largest single site solar park
USD 570 million project awarded at world-record tariff of 1.6953 dollar cent per kWh

Following its successful Bid Submission on the 9th of October 2019, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) awarded the 900MW photovoltaic fifth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park to the consortium led by ACWA Power, a leading international developer and operator of power and water desalination projects in partnership with Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC), a GCC premier principal investor and co-developer in the Gulf. The winning tariff of USD 1.6953 cents/kWh establishes a new global benchmark for Solar Energy.

The progress of this project even as the world is severely impacted by the COVID 19 Pandemic is a testament to DEWA’s unwavering commitment to meeting the energy demands of Dubai with increasing share of renewable energy and reconfirms the confidence of the financial markets in the ability of DEWA and ACWA Power to successfully complete the project and reliably dispatch green electricity for the 25year duration of the contract.

In line with its strategy to support Dubai in its forward-thinking ambitions of becoming a low-carbon sustainable economy, the Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park will be the largest single-site solar park in the world based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model when completed with a planned production capacity of 5,000 MW, with investments valued at USD 13.6 billion. When completed, the solar park will save over 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

The 900 MW 5th phase with an investment of USD 570 Million, will bring the production capacity of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park to 2,863 MW. This fifth phase alone is expected to power 270,000 homes and offset carbon emissions amounting to 1.18 million Tons per year in Dubai. The project will use the latest bifacial photovoltaic solar panels, which captures sunlight on both sides of the panel and produces energy with an advanced solar tracking system to increase generation efficiency.

The PPA was signed by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, and Mohammad Abdullah Abunayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power during a virtual signing ceremony.

KeyFacts Energy: Renewable Energy news