Dubai’s state utility company has opened the tender process for 100MW solar PV generating capacity.
The Dubai electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) is looking for expressions of interest to build the second phase of its PV development plans at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.
The park was launched in October 2013 with the connection of its inaugural 13MW PV plant. It plans to have 1GW of capacity by 2030.
The new plant, or plants, must be commissioned by the summer of 2017. DEWA is looking for a developer or a consortium of developers to take a share of the facility's ownership. DEWA will establish a power purchase agreement for the output of the new facility.
The emirate has set itself the goal of generating half the power needed for it to host Expo 2020 from renewable sources.
It also hopes to generate 1% of its total power demand from solar sources by the same date.
A number of nations in the Middle East have published ambitious solar energy targets. There have been a number of project announcements in Jordan, the UAE and Morocco with expectations that Saudi Arabia will launch a 1GW tender before the end of the year.