Mubasher: Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power and China's Shaghai Electric have signed an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract for a solar project in the UAE.
The EPC contract will cover the 700 mega-watt (MW) Phase 4 of Dubai's Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park (MBR Solar Park), which is co-developed by ACWA Power and DEWA, and the Silk Road Fund.
MBR Solar Park is considered the largest Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) investment across the world, based on the independent power producer (IPP) model.
A consortium comprising ACWA Power and the Silk Road Fund is co-developing the project with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA).
Phase 4 will feature the world’s tallest solar tower, measuring 260m, and have the world’s largest thermal energy storage capacity.
An investment worth $3.9bn (AED14.2 billion) is being made for the project, which has achieved the world's lowest levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) standing at $0.073 per kilo-watt hour (kW/h) for concentrated solar power (CSP).
With a planned capacity of 5,000MW by 2030, and a total investment of $13.6bn (AED 50 billion), MBR Solar Park is part of Dubai's efforts to diversify into clean energy.
Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of DEWA, commented, "This marks considerable progress in our efforts to achieve the objective of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to provide 75% of Dubai's total power output from clean sources by 2050."
