Clean energy will account for about 13 per cent of Dubai’s power before the end of the year, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, said on Tuesday. Renewables currently account for 10 per cent of Dubai’s energy mix.
The emirate attracted Dh40 billion ($10.8bn) in investment from the private sector as part of its “new energy production partnership model”, Sheikh Mohammed said on Twitter.
“Clean energy in Dubai will account for 13 per cent before the end of the year. Our goal is 75 per cent before 2050 and we are proceeding according to our plan successfully,” he said.
Sheikh Mohammed made the comments following the inauguration of the 300-megawatt first stage of the fifth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The massive solar project is set to have an installed capacity of 5,000 megawatts by 2030.
Sheikh Mohammed also launched a project studying the feasibility of power generation from wind in Hatta.
Field research in Hatta, a mountainous exclave bordering Oman, has found the area capable of hosting a wind plant with the capacity to generate 28MW of power.
Dewa is assessing wind speed for the full-year using a 150-metre metal tower. Feasibility studies will look into the total capacity of the plant as well as the number of turbines required and annual operating hours, among other factors.
“Commissioning the 300MW first stage of the fifth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park increases Dewa’s total capacity of clean energy to 1,310MW. This brings clean energy capacity in Dubai’s energy mix to around 10 per cent,” said Saeed Al Tayer, managing director and chief executive of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.
Dubai’s electricity production capacity has reached 13.2 gigawatts with 490 million imperial gallons of desalinated water per day, the Dubai utility chief added.
Clean energy capacity in the emirate will rise to about 13 per cent after the addition of 517MW of solar photovoltaic capacity and concentrated solar power in the fourth phase of the project.
Dewa is also set to commission a 262.44-metre concentrated solar power tower with a capacity of 100MW in September. The utility will also add a 200-megawatt parabolic trough as part of the fourth phase of the development of the solar park, as well as 217MW of photovoltaic capacity.
Power generated from renewable energy in the UAE is set to rise to 21% in 2030 and 44% by 2050, from 7% last year, as more projects come online, according to Rystad Energy.
Abu Dhabi is also developing more renewable energy projects, including the world’s largest solar plant at Al Dhafra with a total capacity of two gigawatts, as part of the UAE’s efforts to increase clean energy capacity.
A consortium led by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, also known as Taqa, and Masdar, in partnership with France’s EDF Renewables and China’s JinkoPower, is building the new plant that is expected to be fully operational next year.
