Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park
| Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park | |
|---|---|
| Country | United Arab Emirates |
| Location | Seih Al-Dahal, Dubai |
| Coordinates | 24°45′17″N 55°21′54″E / 24.7547°N 55.365°E |
| Construction began | 2012 |
| Commission date | 22 October 2013 (first phase) |
| Owner | Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) |
| Operator | ACWA Power |
| Solar farm | |
| Type | Combined PV and CSP plant |
| Site resource | 2150 kWh/(m2, yr) |
| Site area | 77 square kilometres (30 sq mi) |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 2,860 MWp |
| Units under const. | 1,800 MWp |
| Nameplate capacity |
|
| Capacity factor | 24.6% |
| Annual net output | appr. ~2800 GWh/yr |
| External links | |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is a solar park spread over a total area of 77 km2 (30 sq mi) in Saih Al-Dahal, about 50 km (31 mi) south of the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
It is one of the world's largest renewable projects based on an independent power producer (IPP) model. Besides solar farms using PV technology, the project includes concentrating solar power (CSP), with the total capacity of the entire project planned to reach more than 4,000 megawatts. It is estimated that the park will be generating 5,000 megawatts of renewable energy by 2030.
The plant was implemented by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). The first phase of the project was commissioned on 22 October 2013. At the end of 2020 the solar PV complex reached a generating capacity of 1.013 GW with the aim to reach 5GW by 2030. The 4th (700 MW CSP + 250 MW PV, known as Noor Energy 1) and 5th phase (900 MW PV) are under construction.
The 200-megawatt second phase of the project drew global attention as the winning bid of the tender set a new record-low tariff of only US ¢5.89 per kilowatt-hour. This is about 20% lower than any previous, unsubsidized power purchase agreement (PPA) the world has seen before. The PPA is set to a 25-year time frame.
Thanks to a storage capacity of up to 15 hours, the plant can produce power day and night.