World’s biggest CSP plant, with tallest solar power tower, inaugurated in Dubai

COP 28 host the United Arab Emirates has inaugurated the largest concentrated solar power project in the world, featuring the world’s tallest solar tower, at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai.

The 950MW fourth phase of the huge solar park combines three hybrid solar technologies over the space of 44 square kilometres, including 600MW from a parabolic troughs, 100MW from the CSP tower and 250MW from photovoltaic solar panels.

Built at an cost of AED15.78 billion (roughly $A6.5 billion) the project claims the largest thermal energy storage capacity in the world at 5.9 gigawatt-hours and the tallest solar tower, at more than 263 metres. A total of 70,000 heliostats, or mirror panels, track the sun’s movement.

The project has been designed, built and operated by Noor Energy 1, a consortium led by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power. DEWA holds a 51% stake in the company, ACWA Power holds 25%, and the Chinese Silk Road Fund owns 24%.

A fifth phase of the solar park will add a further 900MW of solar PV, while a sixth phase – the contract for which was awarded in August to Masdar – plans to add another 1.8GW.

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) awarded the contract to Masdar with its bid of $US16.24/MWh, marking the lowest levelised cost of energy for any of DEWA’s solar projects under its independent power producer model.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park – located around 50km south of Dubai – is an integral part of the larger Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100% of Dubai’s total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.

According to DEWA, the share of clean energy in Dubai’s energy mix sits around the 16.3% mark of total installed capacity and is expected to increase to 24% by 2026 with completion of the solar park’s sixth phase.

The UAE, the controversial host the current COP28 climate talks, in July announced plans to triple its renewable energy capacity by the end of the decade in a $US54 billion investment plan that will also target green hydrogen production.

In the opening days of the conference, the COP28 president, Sultan Al Jaber, said there was “no science” to support the need for a phase-out of fossil fuels to restrict global heating to 1.5°C.