DEWA bags $0.016953/kWh tariff for 900MW of Dubai solar park

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has confirmed that it fielded a tariff of US$1.6953 cents per kWh in a recent tender for a 900MW plot of its 5GW Mohammed bin Rashid (MbR) solar parks – a bid it claims sets a world record for the indepedent power producer (IPP) model.

The tariff comes very close to the record bid of €1.476 cents per kWh – or US $1.644 cents per kWh by today’s exchange rate – lodged in a Portuguese government auction in August.

DEWA’s chief executive officer Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said in a statement on Tuesday that the utility had achieved “a world record in getting the lowest price for PV solar power projects based on the IPP model.”

Al Tayer added that the 900MW tranche of the solar park will increase production capacity of the park to 2,863MW and help the emirate reach its aim of generating 75% of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy by 2050.

DEWA did not reveal who has lodged the bid. Industry journal IJGlobal reported last week that the lowest tariff was submitted by a consortium led by Saudi-Arabian energy giant ACWA – a formula that has won in other tender phases of the MBR solar park.

The winning bid will be announced next month, according to Tuesday’s announcement. DEWA will award a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to the winning bidder and retain 60% ownership of the project.

The utility released the tender in February. It said it invited nine consortiums and companies to submit bids after receiving 60 requests for qualification (RFQs) from developers.

The capacity in question is the fifth phase of development of the solar park.

Work on the solar park began in 2012. First Solar won the first phase of the project and phase two, which was awarded to a consortium led by ACWA, is being constructed by Spain’s EKS. A Masdar-led consortium and EDF won the third phase of development.

Phase four, which comprises 600MW from a parabolic basin complex, a 100MW solar tower, and 250MW of PV, was awarded to a consortium that includes ACWA, the Silk Road Fund. China’s Shanghai Electric is the EPC contractor.

DEWA wants the park to roll out 5GW of capacity by 2030.