Dewa invites global developers for MBR Solar Park's 7th phase

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has invited international developers to submit expressions of interest for a tender to develop the 1,600-megawatt (MW) seventh phase of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park (MBR Solar Park).

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This phase, which is expandable to 2,000MW, will use photovoltaic solar panels and a bat-tery energy storage system with a capacity of 1,000MW for six hours, providing a total stor-age capacity of 6,000 megawatt-hours (MWh).

This will make it one of the world’s largest solar-plus-storage projects.

The phase will be implemented under the independent power producer (IPP) model. Dewa has invited international developers or consortia to submit their expressions of interest by March 21st, 2025.

The 7th phase is expected to produce 4.5 terawatt-hours of electricity annually, avoiding the burning of more than 36 billion cubic feet of natural gas. It will increase the solar park's planned production capacity from 5,000MW to 7,260MW, raising the share of clean energy in Dubai's energy mix from 27 per cent to 34 per cent by 2030.

As a result, the total reduction in carbon dioxide emissions will rise from 6.5 million tonnes to approximately 8 million tonnes annually, reinforcing Dubai's position as a global hub for sustainability and innovation in renewable energy. The 7th phase is scheduled to become operational in stages between 2027 and 2029.

The solar park's current production capacity stands at 3,460MW, with an additional 1,200MW under construction.