First Solar is to supply the solar modules for the 200 MW second phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park in Dubai, it has announced.
The Arizona-based solar firm will supply over 2.36 million of its thin-film solar modules to the project, which has set a new benchmark in solar photovoltaic (PV) costs, and which will be the largest facility of its kind in the Middle East.
The solar park is being built by a consortium of ACWA Power of Saudi Arabia and TSK, a Spanish engineering firm, under a contract with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). It will occupy an area of almost 4.5 million square meters and is due to be completed in 2017.
According to the ACWA-TSK consortium, the project's tariff of 5.84 USD cents per kilowatt-hour establishes a new global benchmark, reducing the cost of solar electricity by over 20 per cent.
Paddy Padmanathan, President and Chief Executive Officer, ACWA Power said: "ACWA Power's commitment to deliver reliable and sustainable electricity at the lowest kWh tariff is reflected clearly in the win it has secured in the second phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.
"The technology we plan to implement has a proven advantage over conventional solar panels, delivering more annual energy for the same nameplate watts under the specific project conditions of the DEWA project. The organic performance growth program that First Solar is developing with their photovoltaic modules sets a benchmark in the PV industry, allowing us to benefit from a long-term reliable and durable power generation technology for projects of this scale."
"This project's impact on the global energy transition cannot be overstated. It has effectively driven down the cost of solar electricity, marking a new milestone in solar PV's evolution as a mainstream energy resource," said Ahmed S. Nada, Vice President and Region Executive for the Middle East at First Solar. "With this win, First Solar will have earned the position of being the leading PV solutions provider in the Middle East, with a projected installed capacity of at least 270 MW across the region by 2017."
First Solar modules already power the 13 MW first phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park and will be installed at the 52.5 MW Shams Ma'an solar PV plant, currently under construction in Jordan and scheduled for completion in the second half of 2016.
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