Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved the start of what will become the world’s largest Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project. This significant investment is set to provide clean energy to around 270,000 homes.
The 700 megawatt (MW) fourth phase of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Solar Park marks a key step in the park’s development. This phase is part of a broader plan to establish the largest single-site solar energy project globally, aiming for a total production capacity of 1,000 MW by 2020 and 5,000 MW by 2030.
The fourth phase, a Dh14 billion initiative, will be developed by the Dubai Water and Electricity Authority (DEWA) and Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power over the next four years. This phase will help cut about 1.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually and features the tallest solar tower in the world, standing at 260 meters, and the largest thermal storage capacity globally. The project will use a combination of a 600 MW parabolic basin complex and a 100 MW solar tower across 43 square kilometers.
Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, DEWA’s CEO, highlighted that this project is part of Dubai’s broader clean energy strategy, which includes spending Dh81 billion on renewable energy initiatives in the next five years. He stressed that this investment aims to balance economic growth with sustainability and natural resource conservation.
The Solar Park is expected to reduce over 6.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually and power 800,000 homes by 2030. The park will also supply Expo 2020 Dubai with 464 MW of clean energy, making it the first Expo to be entirely powered by renewable energy.
