Dubai is making the right noises when it comes to Solar Power. The land of abundant sunshine is also located shoulder to shoulder with Abu Dhabi, the world’s second-largest producer of oil. However, the United Arab Emirates – the GCC country of which Dubai and Abu Dhabi are a part- is taking concrete steps to a renewable future.
The latest announcement from Dubai is for the construction of the world’s largest single-site concentrated solar power (CSP) project. Dubai Electricity & Water’s (DEWA) new 700MW plant, to be built by Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power and China’s Shanghai Power at the cost of Dh14 billion($3.8 billion), is a major step in Dubai’s ambition to generate 25 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2030, eventually growing to 75 percent by 2050.
ABB is proud to already be a part of the Mohammed bin Rashid (MBR) Solar Park. A 400/132 kilovolt (kV) gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) substation from ABB has been built for DEWA to connect the second phase of the MBR Solar Park and integrate 200 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the transmission grid.
“This announcement from Dubai for the fourth phase of the MBR Park is truly path-breaking. We congratulate the government on furthering their commitment with this CSP Project, which will be located in the MBR Solar Park and include the world’s tallest solar tower, standing 260 metres tall. As the contractors have mentioned, this project will not only produce clean energy but also store it, truly making renewable energy a viable option. Both Dubai and Abu Dhabi with the MBR Solar Park and the Sweihan Solar Park are attracting global attention with the scale of the solar farms and the record-breaking low prices,” said Mostafa AlGuezeri, Managing Director, ABB.
ABB is a proud partner for Dubai’s solar dreams from powering its facilities in AlQuoz, Dubai via a solar rooftop to helping evacuate clean power from the MBR Solar Park.
The 1.17-gigawatt Sweihan Solar plant in Abu Dhabi also made international headlines earlier this year for being one of the largest and cheapest solar projects under construction currently in the world.
The UAE has targeted an energy mix, which by 2050 will comprise 44 percent from renewables, 38 percent from gas, 12 percent from clean fossils and six percent from nuclear energy.
