Asia | December 8, 2023

Dubai inaugurates world’s largest concentrated solar plus PV project

Being built at an investment of $4.3 billion, the project features the tallest solar tower in the world.

 

Dubai inaugurates world’s largest concentrated solar (CSP) plus PV project

Image for illustration purposes.

UAE, Dubai: Being built at an investment of $4.3 billion, the project features the tallest solar tower in the world

Dubai has inaugurated the largest concentrated solar power (CSP) project in the world, within the fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai. It was launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The 950 MW Phase Four is the largest investment project that uses three hybrid technologies: 600 MW from a parabolic basin complex, 100 MW from the CSP tower, and 250 MW from photovoltaic solar panels. Being built at an investment of AED15.78 billion ($4.3 billion), the project features the tallest solar tower in the world, standing at 263.1 m high, the largest thermal energy storage capacity of 5,907 MWh, and 70,000 heliostats that track the sun’s movement, it added.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dewa, said: “The Phase Four of the Solar Park covers an area of 44 sq km and features 70,000 heliostats that track the sun’s movement. The Molten Salt Receiver (MSR) on top of the solar power tower is the core and the most important part of the CSP plant,” stated Al Tayer. “The MSR contains over 1,000 thin tubes that enable the absorption of sunrays and their transfer to the molten salt within these tubes. It receives solar radiation and turns it into thermal energy,” he added.

According to him, the project will provide approximately 320,000 residences with clean and sustainable energy. “It will cut carbon emissions by about 1.6 million tonnes annually, thus enhancing Dubai’s position as a leading global hub in clean, renewable energy and climate action,” he said.

Source: Utilities Middle East