Dubai solar park R&D Investments set to reach Dh500m by 2020

R&D center at Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park was established in 2014

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai is home to the world's largest solar power project with a capacity of 700 megawatts and to be built at a cost of Dh14.2 billion. Dubai Media Office

Investments into the research and development centre at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park will reach Dh500 million by 2020, according to the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa).

“The R&D Centre was launched in 2014 and focuses on four key operations,” Dewa said in a statement carried by wam.

"These include producing electricity using clean and solar energy, integration of smart grids, energy efficiency and water. This is part of DEWA's efforts to promote the production of clean energy and reducing operating costs."

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Dubai has been positioning itself as a pioneer when it comes to solar power. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of UAE and ruler of Dubai, hailed in September the launch of the world’s largest single-site concentrated solar power (CSP) plant, a milestone in the emirate's ambition to generate 75 per cent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2050.

Dewa said in September that it had selected Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power and China's Shanghai Power to build the Dh14.2 billion, 700MW extension to the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Complex, providing more than three times the capacity of the initial plans for the extension.

Under the terms of the contract, the new plant will deliver energy at 7.3 US cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). The project will have the world’s tallest solar tower, measuring 260 metres.

Dewa has also been encouraging the installation of solar rooftops in the emirate as part of the Shams Dubai initiative, which aims to have solar panels on every rooftop across the emirate by 2030. Since September, the emirate has added nearly 100 systems bringing its total up to 529 solar installations with a capacity at just under 20 megawatts.