The largest single-site solar park – Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park – in the world was recently inaugurated by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The solar park is located near Al Qudra in Dubai. It can generate up to 200MW solar energy every day.
The park has more than 2.3 million ‘thin-film photovoltaic panels’ spread over 4.5 square kilometres. It is being estimated that the second phase of the project can save annual carbon emissions of up to 214,000 tonnes.
The Dh1.2 billion project, a part of a multiphase solar park, is one of the major projects of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). The park, when completed, is expected to generate clean energy up to 1,000MW of by 2020 and up to 5,000MW electricity by 2030, with a total investment of Dh50 billion. In addition to this, once completed, the project’s clean energy production will reduce carbon emissions by more than 6.5 million tonnes annually.
