Dubai’s bid to ensure that 100 percent of its total power capacity comes from clean energy sources by 2050 as part of its Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050 is on track, supported by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park (MBR Solar Park).
One of the most extensive renewable energy projects taken up by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the largest single-site solar park in the world.
The managing director and CEO of DEWA, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, said: “The current capacity at the solar park is 1,527MW using photovoltaic solar panels. DEWA is implementing more projects with a total capacity of 1,333MW using solar photovoltaic and concentrated solar power (CSP) in addition to future phases to reach 5,000MW by 2030.
“The clean energy capacity share is currently around 11.4 percent of Dubai’s energy mix, and is expected to reach around 14 percent by the end of 2022.”
The solar park has a planned capacity of 5,000MW by 2030 with investments up to $13.6 billion (AED 50 billion). Once complete, the project will reduce more than 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
Al Tayer added that the regulatory frameworks in Dubai, which enable the private sector to take part in energy production projects in Dubai, have encouraged international investors and developers to participate in the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park’s projects.
DEWA has implemented the independent power producer (IPP) model on the project and has attracted investments of approximately $10.89 billion (AED 40 billion) through this model in public-private partnerships.
DEWA also received the lowest solar energy prices (levelised cost of energy) globally five consecutive times, making Dubai a global benchmark for solar power prices.