Fin close reached on 1.8-GW phase of Dubai’s flagship solar project

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC, better known as Masdar, and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority PJSC (DEWA) have secured all needed financing to initiate the construction of the 1.8-GW sixth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai.

The financial closing was announced in a press release by DEWA, which last summer picked Masdar as the preferred bidder to build and operate the AED-5.51 billion (USD 1.5bn/EUR 1.38bn) facility. Masdar will install the capacity under the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model at a levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of USD 16.215 per MWh.

DWA owns a 60% stake in the project’s sixth phase and Masdar holds the remaining 40%. The project is backed by financing from a lending consortium comprising Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Commercial Bank of Dubai, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank , Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Warba Bank.

The sixth-phase plant will cover an area of 20 sq km (7.7 sq mi) and will be capable of producing electricity for roughly 540,000 homes. The bifacial photovoltaic (PV) panels will be mounted on single-axis trackers.

The entire Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park will have a capacity of 5,000 MW, to be installed at a total cost of AED 50 billion. The huge complex is planned to be fully commissioned by 2030. Currently, 2,627MW of the overall capacity is in operation and an additional 2,033 MW is under construction. The sixth phase will lift the complex’s total production capacity to 4,660 MW by 2026.

(AED 1.0 = USD 0.272/EUR 0.251)

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