Masdar submits lowest contract bid for phase six of Dubai’s mega solar park

Dewa aims to select preferred bidder during third quarter of this year

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. When completed, the solar park will reduce over 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually. Photo: Dewa

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority has received two bids from ACWA Power and Masdar for the sixth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

Masdar submitted the lowest bid of $1.62154 cents per kilowatt hour. The evaluation process has started and Dewa aims to select the preferred bidder during the third quarter of this year.

The production capacity of phase six is 1,800 megawatts and will become operational in stages starting from Q4 2024, the utility said in statement.

“Dewa has broken its own record and achieved the lowest price for PV solar power projects based on the IPP model in Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park,” said Saeed Al Tayer, managing director and chief executive of Dewa.

The largest single-site solar park in the world uses the independent power producer model. The park being built by Dewa is expected to have a capacity of 5,000 MW by 2030.

Dubai's solar park mega project now accounts for more than 15 per cent of the emirate's energy production capacity.

When completed in 2030, the solar park will help offset more than 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

Dubai aims to meet all of its power needs using clean energy sources by 2050. The UAE plans to invest Dh600bn in clean energy projects as part of its Net Zero 2050 strategy. It is also building world’s largest solar plant in Abu Dhabi's Al Dhafra region, with a capacity of two gigawatts.