DEWA’s Role in Shaping Dubai’s Green Future: The Key Projects

1. Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park

Plans for the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park was first announced in 2012 and operations first began in 2013. The solar park was designed to become the world’s largest solar energy producer from a single location. Total energy generation capacity is expected to reach over 5,000 MW by 2030, with an investment of AED 50 billion (equivalent to over US $13.6 billion); expected to produce enough clean energy to power 1.5 million homes. Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park comes equipped with 24-hour thermal storage, and is expected to reduce Dubai’s carbon footprint from power generation by nearly 70%, removing 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year. The Solar Park is a cornerstone to the Dubai’s clean energy strategies. The country will invest US $163 billion in renewable, clean fossil and nuclear technologies over the coming years, with an expected savings of US $190 billion.

The solar park uses a range of photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies, and is home to the world’s tallest solar tower, topping off at 260 meters. A recent Japanese study published by the Nikkei Asian Review noted that the UAE’s interest in producing renewable energy has significantly contributed to the reduction in the global cost of solar energy. In 2017, the fourth phase achieved the lowest international Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) bid of US$ 7.3 cents per kilowatt hour (Kwh) for the CSP plant and  US$ 2.4 cents per kWh for PV power.

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is also home to one of the largest research & development centres in the region, which includes PV solar and CSP testing facilities and a solar-powered reverse-osmosis water desalination plant, which produces quality bottled drinking water. The solar park is no stranger to receiving multiple world records, with the latest world record being set in 2023 for having the largest thermal energy storage plant in the world, with a storage capacity of 5,907 MWh using CSP based on parabolic basin complex with Molten Salt technology.

Also Read: DEWA's Role in Shaping Dubai's Green Future

2. The First Hydroelectric Power Plant in THE GCC: Hatta Hydroelectric Power Plant

A hydroelectric power plant in Hatta that began construction in 2019 is the first of its kind in the region to generate electricity by using stored hydroelectric power. The 250 MW pumped-storage hydroelectric plant has a storage capacity of 1,500 MWh and a life span of up to 80 years. With a turnaround efficiency of 78.9% and a 90-second response to demand for electricity, the power plant is an effective model of clean energy generation. Once completed, it is expected to power 60,000 households each year.

So how does it work? The Hatta hydroelectric power plant utilizes the potential energy of the water stored in the upper reservoir, which is converted to kinetic energy as the water flows through the 1.2km subterranean tunnel. This kinetic energy rotates the turbine, converting mechanical energy to electrical energy which is connected to DEWA’s grid.

During off-peak hours, advanced turbines will use clean energy generated from the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park to pump water from the dam to the upper reservoir, making the entire project 100% powered through clean and renewable energy. The project is currently under construction, and is expected to be completed in 2025, at a cost of approximately US $387 million.

The upper dam has two walls. The height of the main wall is 72 meters and the side wall is about 37 meters. They are made of roller compacted concrete and were completed in the first half of 2023.

DEWA is also implementing two other projects in Hatta around the hydroelectric plant. The Dubai Mountain Peak Project includes the construction of a 5.4 km cable car to transport tourists to the summit of Um Al-Nesoor; at 1,300 meters above sea level, it is the highest natural summit in Dubai. The cable car route passes over the Hatta Dam Lake and the Upper Dam Lake, where the hydroelectric power station sits, through majestic mountain scenery. The second project, The Hatta Sustainable Waterfalls Project, will use the slope of the upper dam to create a natural waterfall.

3. The World’s First Digital Utility: Digital DEWA

DEWA has been at the center of Dubai’s forward-thinking progress. The city and the utility player share the same DNA, always looking towards stewarding and adopting technological innovations to future-proof the city and the Emirate. The Emirate runs a government-driven initiative called 10X, which focuses on implementing projects across Dubai that will keep the city and Emirate 10 years ahead of other world cities. The premise behind 10X can be best conveyed by the commonly shared motto of the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum: “The future belongs to those who can imagine it, design it, and execute it.”

One such 10X initiative is Digital DEWA. Launched in 2018, Digital DEWA is DEWA’s digital arm, making the company the world’s first digital utility to use autonomous systems for renewable energy, storage, expansion in AI adoption and providing digital services.

Digital DEWA will develop, enhance and deploy advanced solar technologies to power a 100% renewable energy grid by 2050. This includes a 24-hour solar-powered utility service in Dubai, where all electricity and water in the city will be delivered with the use of renewable sources. This also entails the integration of innovative energy storage technologies and solutions which will support Dubai’s drive for a diversified clean energy mix. The initiative also seeks to embed Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) wherever possible, and to deliver 24/7 digital services to customers in order to optimize core grid operations.

In early 2023, Digital DEWA inaugurated the Moro Hub, a green data centre offering next generation digital and cloud services. In order to realize DEWA’s innovation, cost-efficiency and scalability ambitions, DEWA’s entire 24 module SAP landscape, including business-critical systems, were relocated from on-premises to the cloud, hosted at Moro Hub. The project became of the largest migrations ever undertaken in the utility sector in the world.

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