Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has signed a landmark PV power purchase agreement (PPA) with a consortium led by ACWA Power and TSK for power to be generated at the 200 MW second phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid
Al Maktoum Solar Park. The consortium was awarded preferred-bidder status on 15 January 2015 based on a level tariff of 5.84 USD cents/kWh, which sets a new worldwide benchmark for utility-scale solar power generation.
The project is based on an IPP (independent power producer) model, with ACWA Power financing, building and operating the facility. The power purchase agreement is for 25 years starting in 2017, when the plant is due to enter operation.
Development of the new PV plant, which will occupy an area of about 4.5 square km, supports the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 developed by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy to diversify Dubai’s energy mix.
It is envisaged that solar energy will account for 7% of Dubai’s total energy production by 2020 and 15% by 2030. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is planned to have an installed capacity of 3000 MW when it is completed in 2030, making it one of the biggest new IPP projects in the renewables business worldwide.
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority is also currently in the process of inviting bids for 2000 MW of coal fired generating capacity, part of its efforts to diversify Dubai’s fuel mix.
