Dubai Breaks Ground on World’s Biggest CSP Project

United Arab Emirates, 20 March 2018, (AETOSWire): HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, broke ground on 4th phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. This is the biggest Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) investment project in the world, based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model, and will generate 700MW on a single site. It will have the world’s tallest solar tower at 260 metres, and the largest thermal energy storage capacity in the world. It will provide clean energy to 270,000 residences, reducing 1.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually. The project will use two technologies: a 600MW parabolic basin complex and a 100MW solar tower, over 43 square kilometres. This project, with AED14.2 billion in investments, achieved the lowest Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) of USD 7.3 cents per kW/h.

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said that developing the UAE’s infrastructure is top priority for the leadership and vital to raising the country’s global competitiveness.

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) said that the project supports the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to expedite the pace of clean and renewable energy projects to secure a happy future and enhance the quality of life for future generations in an economy that doesn’t rely on oil. This will also achieve the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to provide 75% of Dubai's total power output from clean sources.

Mohammad Abu Nayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power, said, "We are proud of our role in obtaining the lowest price globally for the second phase of the solar park. Today we are driving price reduction for CSP projects globally, achieving more than just one unprecedented world record, by constructing the world's tallest solar tower and providing the highest storage capacity.”

Cao Min, President of Shanghai Electric, said, “On behalf of Shanghai Electric, I would like to express warm congratulations on the groundbreaking of this project, which is by far the largest and most advanced CSP project co-developed by DEWA and ACWA Power and implemented by Shanghai Electric as EPC contractor.”