The UAE based renewable energy firm, Masdar, has been awarded the contract to build the 1.8GW sixth phase of the largest Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.
The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) awarded the contract to Masdar as the preferred bidder with the lowest bid of $US16.24/MWh. With this, it has become the lowest levelised cost of energy (LCoE) for any of DEWA’s solar projects under its independent power producer (IPP) model.
By 2030, DEWA expects that the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park will have the total capacity of 5GW. Currently, total capacity of 2,427MW has been commissioned, with completion of the sixth phase to increase total capacity to 4,660MW.
The solar park, which is located ~ 50km south of the city and emirate of Dubai in the UAE – is an intrinsic part of the larger Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100% of Dubai’s total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.
DEWA has a goal of achieving clean energy share in Dubai’s energy mix to be ~16.3% mark of total installed capacity and is expected to increase to 24% by 2026 with completion of the sixth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.
The host of the next COP28 climate talks, UAE recently announced that it will triple its renewable energy capacity by the end of the decade in a $US54 billion investment plan that will also target green hydrogen production. Also, the nation has a target to raise clean energy capacity to 14.2GW by 2030.
