HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and chief executive officer of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), has received a construction update on Phase 4 of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park (MBR Solar Park) project, including its 260m-tall solar tower, in Dubai.
Abdul Hamid Al Muhaidib, executive managing director of Noor Energy 1 – the joint venture of Dewa, Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power, and China’s Silk Road Fund that is tasked with building Phase 4 – briefed Al Tayer during a visit to MBR Solar Park’s construction site, as reported by Dubai Media Office (DMO).
Al Muhaidib confirmed that construction work on Phase 4’s solar tower was 7% ahead of its planned schedule.
Moreover, 73% of the tower’s solar field also been built, DMO added, including the completion of the main structure for the assembly and installation of heliostats – devices that are used to reflect sunlight in a fixed direction.
Phase 4 of MBR Solar Park is the largest single-site concentrated solar power (CSP) project in the world. Based on the independent power producer (IPP) model, it will generate 950 MW of solar energy following an investment of $4.3m (AED15.78bn).
In total, MBR Solar Park will generate 5,000 MW of electricity by 2030, and is valued at approximately $13.6bn (AED50bn)
The park’s 13 MW Phase 1 began operations in 2013, whilst the 200 MW second phase was launched in March 2017. Phase 3 began operations in May 2018.
In March, American chemical giant Dow announced it had been awarded a subcontract for the Phase 4 along with China’s Shanghai Electric to provide on-ground services related to Dowtherm, a heat transfer fluid capable of resisting temperatures as high as 400°C to collect, transport, and store heat in CSP systems.