Dubai: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Wednesday attended the signing of a Dh5.5 billion agreement between Dubai Electricity and Water Company (DEWA) and the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar).
The agreement aims to implement the sixth phase of a project to develop the world’s largest solar power plant within a single location.
“I witnessed the signing of an agreement between the Dubai Electricity and Water Company (DEWA) and the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) to implement the sixth phase of the development of the world’s largest solar power plant in a single location,” Sheikh Mohammed said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“At a total cost of Dh5.5 billion, the sixth phase of the project will provide energy for more than half a million homes and reduce carbon emissions of 2.36 million tonnes annually.
“Work will be completed on all phases of this huge project in 2030 with a total investment of Dh50 billion. Our goal is to achieve100 per cent clean energy for Dubai by 2050,” the Vice-President said.
Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry & Advanced Technology, Chairman of Masdar and COP28 President-Designate, and His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of DEWA signed the agreement in Abu Dhabi.
The UAE's clean energy powerhouse was selected from 23 high-calibre international bidders and offered a Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) of $1.6215 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), the lowest of any of DEWA’s solar Independent Power Producer (IPP) model projects to date. The current total production capacity of solar projects at the solar park is 2,427MW. DEWA is building another project with a total capacity of 433 MW. The 1,800MW sixth phase of the solar park will increase total production capacity to 4,660MW.
“Ahead of our nation hosting COP28 later this year, it is vital that the world triples global renewable energy capacity by 2030 to keep the ambition of 1.5 degrees within reach,” said Dr. Sultan Al Jaber. “This landmark project demonstrates definitive action in our shared journey towards a cleaner, greener future."
Last month, DEWA said it had selected Masdar as the Preferred Bidder to build and operate the 1,800MW sixth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park for using photovoltaic solar panels based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model.
“This underscores the UAE’s prominent status as one of the world’s largest investors in clean and renewable energy projects,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA. “It also affirms our support for the UAE’s hosting of the COP28 at Expo City Dubai, aligning our strategies and policies with the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 in sustainability, innovation and future-making.”
When fully completed, the solar park will reduce over 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually. The 1,800MW sixth phase will become operational in stages starting from Q4 2024.
Mohammed Jameel Al Ramahi, Masdar CEO, said: "Following our successful delivery of phase three of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park as part of an international consortium, this latest award once again shows that Masdar is a global leader in clean energy as we move forwards from 20GW capacity today to reach 100GW of clean energy capacity by 2030 driving decarbonisation at home and abroad,"
