The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, DEWA, signed a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement, PPA, for the 5th phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park with a capacity of 900 megawatts, MW, supporting the DEWA’s efforts to achieve the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to provide 75 percent of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy by 2050.

This phase will use photovoltaic solar panels and will be commissioned in stages starting from the third quarter of 2021.

The PPA was signed by Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, and Mohammad Abunayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power, via video conferencing.

In November 2019, the DEWA announced the consortium led by ACWA Power and Gulf Investment Corporation as the Preferred Bidder to build and operate the fifth phase of the solar park. The DEWA achieved a world record by receiving the lowest bid of US$1.6953 cents per kilowatt-hour for this phase and 60 Requests for Qualification from international developers for this project.

To implement the project, the DEWA established Shuaa Energy 3 in partnership with the consortium led by ACWA Power and Gulf Investment Corporation. The authority owns 60 percent of the company, and the consortium owns the remaining 40 percent. The project will use the latest solar photovoltaic bifacial technologies, which allows solar radiation to reach the front and back of the panels, with single-axis tracking to increase generation.

"First, I extend my best wishes to you all at the start of the Holy Month of Ramadan. I wish you all a month full of blessings. ‫ To achieve the vision and directives of the wise leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai; and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to ‫ invest in clean and renewable energy project, we sign the PPA, via conference-calling, with the consortium led by ACWA Power and the Gulf Investment Corporation. This is to implement the 5th phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. This pioneering national landmark is the largest single-site solar park in the world," Al Tayer said.

"At DEWA, we are guided by the vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to make Dubai a global hub for clean energy and green economy. We are building major renewable and clean energy projects. The current operational capacity at the solar park is 1,013MW from photovoltaic solar panels. We have 1,850MW under construction from photovoltaic and Concentrated Solar Power, with future phases to reach 5,000MW by 2030," Al Tayer added.

"The signing of today’s agreement is a testament to the robust strategic partnership we have established with the DEWA, which we are immensely proud of. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the most ambitious and largest project of its kind worldwide that aims to reduce the carbon footprint in Dubai and transform it into a global model in the clean energy and sustainable green economy," Abunayyan said.

"The delivery of the project reinforces the durability and competitiveness of Dubai’s economic landscape under the wise leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, which continues its steady and pioneering plans despite the current circumstances, and reconfirms the confidence and attractiveness of the investment environment that Dubai spearheads internationally. We are delighted to have been a reliable and trusted partner for DEWA’s ambitious goals. The fifth phase will witness a prosperous collaboration with Gulf Investment Corporation and Shanghai Electric which will undoubtedly mark a milestone in the renewable energy sector not only at a regional level but on an international scale as well," Abunayyan added.

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