On a patch of land in the Dubai desert, solar powered panels are following the path of the sun to help the emirate reach its clean energy goals.
From sunrise to sunset, more than 2.5 million photovoltaic modules fitted with solar tracking technology rotate slowly to maximise the capture of sunlight.
On 10 sq km of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, The National toured the fifth phase of the mega project by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, which has a capacity of 900megawatts.
Once complete, the project will help to supply clean energy to 250,000 homes in the city.
Omar Al Hassan is chief executive of Shuaa Energy 3, the company operating the scheme.
“Shuaa is honoured to play a key role in implementing the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 by executing and evolving the fifth phase of the solar park, which is a 900MW pv [photovoltaic] project,” he said.
“Once complete, this project will supply clean energy to more than 250,000 houses in Dubai and will result in the reduction of more than 1.1 million CO2 emissions annually.”
Production capacity of the first project in the fifth phase has already increased to 330MW from 300MW, due to the use of the latest photovoltaic technology by Nextracker, a US company specialising in solar power.
The second project of the phase is set to be complete in December this year and the third and final by December 2023.
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