Photos: Progress of Hatta hydroelectric power plant

DEWA has completed 44 per cent of its pumped-storage hydroelectric power station being built by DEWA in Hatta, which will have a production capacity of 250 megawatts (MW), a storage capacity of 1,500 megawatt-hours and a life span of up to 80 years.

The Hatta hydroelectric power plant is the first in the region. It will use the water in the Hatta Dam, stored in an upper reservoir using solar-powered pumps built in the mountain; electricity will be generated when water falls. It will also help achieve the goals of the Dubai Clean Energy 2050 to provide 75% of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy by 2050.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), visited the station, considered the first station of its kind in the GCC with investments up to AED1.421 billion, to review its progress.

The pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant in Hatta is part of DEWA’s efforts to achieve the vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. It also supports the Hatta Development Plan launched by His Highness.

The Plan includes establishing a 5.4km-long cable car route and the Dubai Mountain Peak at an altitude of 1,300 metres (the summit of Jebel Umm Al Nisour), Hatta Sustainable Waterfalls to contribute to the overall development in the Hatta region and provide innovative job opportunities for citizens in Hatta.

Pumped hydro is fascinating engineering work, formally known as pumped-storage hydroelectric power. The turbines act as a pump, moving water back uphill. During periods of high electricity demand, the stored water is released through turbines. A pumped-storage plant works much like a conventional hydroelectric station, except the same water can be used repeatedly.

DEWA's projects will provide around 200 technical, administrative and operational jobs in Hatta. Another 300 jobs are expected to be created by the Visitor Centre and other outdoor activities and tourist facilities associated with the project.

The Hydroelectric power plant is energy storage that utilises the potential energy of the water stored in the upper dam, which is converted to kinetic energy during the flow of water through the 1.2-kilometre subterranean tunnel, and this kinetic energy rotates the turbines and converts mechanical energy to electrical energy which is sent to DEWA grid. Then to store energy again, clean energy generated at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is used to pump the water through this tunnel back from the Hatta dam to the upper dam by converting the electrical energy to kinetic energy and then finally storing it as potential energy in the upper dam. The power plant will have a turnaround efficiency of 78.9 per cent and respond to demand energy within 90 seconds.

This includes all available technologies such as photovoltaic solar panels, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), and green hydrogen production using renewable energy. The construction of the hydroelectric power plant uses the latest and safest drilling technologies suited to Hatta’s geological features. It adheres to the strictest international environmental standards to protect the Hatta Natural Reserve. During the visit, Al Tayer was briefed by the project manager on the latest developments related to the ‘Dubai Mountain Peak’ and the ‘Hatta Sustainable Waterfalls’ project, which DEWA has tendered.