Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park

"Noor Energy 1" redirects here. For other power plants called Noor, see Noor (disambiguation) § Power plants.

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park
Map
CountryUnited Arab Emirates
LocationSeih Al-Dahal, Dubai
Coordinates24°45′17″N 55°21′54″E / 24.7547°N 55.365°E / 24.7547; 55.365
Construction began2012
Commission date22 October 2013 (first phase)
Owner(s)Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA)
Operator(s)ACWA Power
Solar farm
TypeCombined PV and CSP plant
Site resource2150 kWh/(m2, yr)
Site area77 square kilometres (30 sq mi)
Power generation
Units operational1,560 MWp
Units under const.1300 MWp
Nameplate capacity
  • 1,313 MW
Capacity factor24.6%
Annual net outputappr. ~2800 GWh/yr
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

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).[1]

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.[2] It is estimated that the park will be generating 5 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030.[3]

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.[4] 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.[5][6]

Thanks to a storage capacity of up to 15 hours, the plant can produce power day and night.[7]

  1. ^ "Dubai Electricity & Water Authority | Solar Park". Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  2. ^ Hill, Joshua S. (17 August 2023). "UAE awards contract for huge 1.8GW solar park addition at record low prices". RenewEconomy. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference pincus2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA), ACWA Power, and Silk Road Fund reach financial closing on 950MW 4th phase of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park". www.dewa.gov.ae.
  5. ^ http://ameinfo.com/ ACWA Power wins 200 megawatts (260MWp) phase II Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, 17 January 2015
  6. ^ Craig Morris (27 November 2014). "Solar in Dubai reaches record low price". RenewablesInternational.net. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference night-time solar power was invoked but never defined (see the help page).