Just days before the World Energy Summit, taking place in Abu Dhabi, the emirate of Dubai announced new plans to establish its position as a renewable energy hub.
A $3.3 billion, 1,000 megawatt solar park will be built as part of its
Integrated Energy Strategy 2030, which targets a 30% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. The plant is expected to combine solar PV and concentrating solar, but details have yet to be released.
According to the plan, solar will contribute 1% of Dubai’s power by 2020, when it reaches 1 GW of capacity, and 5% by 2030.
Although Dubai is drenched in sunlight, it’s only installed 4.5 MW of solar so far. The country is among the biggest per capita electricity consumers in the world and also wants to reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels – oil and natural gas.
The Maktoum Solar Park will cover 18.5 square miles and be built in two phases, with the first 10 MW phase coming online by the end of 2013.
Members of Dubai’s Supreme Council of Energy will finance the first phase, which includes various government agencies such as the Dubai Supply Authority and Dubai Petroleum Establishment as well as Dubai Aluminum Company (DUBAL) and Emirates National Oil Company ENOC.L.
The Council is exploring options for financing the rest of the project, such as the creation of a clean energy fund and private partnerships.
Dubai is also considering a feed-in tariff to drive investment in small scale solar installations as well as large-scale solar plants.