DEWA issues RfQ for 900 MW of solar in Dubai

February 28 (Renewables Now) - The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has started a competitive tender process for the next 900-MW phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar complex.

The deadline for submitting Statements of Qualification (SOQs) in response to the Request for Qualification (RfQ) is March 31, 2019, DEWA says on its website. The announcement comes a few weeks after The Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) invited expressions of interest (EoI) for a 2-GW solar photovoltaic (PV) project at Al Dhafra, near Abu Dhabi.

The 900 MW of photovoltaic (PV) capacity will be installed as the fifth phase of the 5-GW Mohammed Bin Rashid Solar Park in Dubai, with selected developers to be in charge of building and operating the capacity. The project will be commissioned in phases, starting in the second quarter of 2021. The generated electricity will be purchased by DEWA under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA).

By 2020, the commissioned capacity at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum project will exceed 1 GW. The complex will use both solar PV and concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies. Its first phase, of 13 MW, was switched on in 2013, while 200-MW Phase II was brought online in March 2017.