DUBAI // A contractor has been appointed to build the first phase of what will eventually become the world's largest solar farm.

First Solar, a US manufacturer of PV cells, will build the first 13 megawatts of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, on behalf of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa).

The park will eventually produce 1,000 megawatts of electricity using solar cells, and will be worth Dh12 billion once completed.

The initial 13 megawatt development will produce 22 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year - enough to power 500 households for a year.

mcroucher@thenational.ae