Acwa Power, a leading Saudi developer of power and desalination projects, has announced that the project company for Shuaa Energy 3 plant in Dubai has obtained the commercial operation certificate for Phase C of the facility.
The Shuaa Energy 3 plant is being set up as part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world with a planned capacity of 5,000 MW by 2030.
The fifth phase, which is being developed at investments worth AED2.058 billion ($560 million), on completion, will boast a capacity of 900MW of solar photovoltaic (PV).
For the development of the mega project, Dewa had set up Shuaa Energy 3 as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) company in partnership with a consortium led by Acwa Power and Kuwait-based Gulf Investment Corporation.
It is majority-owned by Dewa with a 60% stake followed by Acwa Power (24% stake) and Kuwait-based Gulf Investment Corporation, which owns the rest.
The SPV had been granted the key commercial operation certificate for Phase C of the project, which will add another 300MW to the total project capacity, said Acwa Power in its filing to the Saudi bourse Tadawul.
According to Acwa Power, Shuaa Energy 3 has already sealed a power purchase agreement of 25 years to generate clean energy that will ultimately contribute to Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050.
The project uses the latest Solar PV bifacial technologies, which allows solar radiation to reach the front and back of the panels, with single-axis tracking to increase generation.
The fifth phase will provide clean energy to over 270,000 residences in Dubai, including 90,000 residences by the commissioned first stage, and will reduce 1.18 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
