Dubai inaugurates world's largest CSP project

A concentrated solar power (CSP) site, touted as the world’s largest, has been formally inaugurated in Dubai as part of the 950-MW fourth phase of the mega solar project Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

“The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is at the heart of Dubai and the UAE’s commitment to create a world-class infrastructure for sustainability and a robust foundation for building an environmentally friendly future,” said Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, noted at the event.

Spanning 44 square kilometres (16.9 sq miles), the fourth phase comprises three different hybrid technologies -- a 600-MW parabolic basin complex, a 100-MW CSP tower and 250 MW from photovoltaic solar panels. It houses more than 790,000 photovoltaic panels, more than 63,600 parabolic trough collectors and 70,000 mirrors (heliostats) that track the sun’s movement.

This portion of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum complex boasts the tallest solar tower in the world at just above 263 metres and the largest thermal energy storage capacity of 5,907 MWh.

The fourth phase of the project appropriated an investment of about AED 15.8 billion (USD 4.30bn/EUR 3.98bn), using the independent power producer (IPP) model.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai is designed to achieve an overall capacity of 5,000 MW by 2030. The fifth stage of the project was inaugurated in June.

The fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum project was assigned to a consortium led by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power which established Noor Energy 1 as a project company to design, build and operate the fourth phase.
DEWA holds a 51% stake in the company, ACWA Power owns 25%, and the Chinese Silk Road Fund has 24%.

(AED 1 = USD 0.272/EUR 0.252)

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