Dewa signs deal for 5th phase of MBR Solar Park

dubai -- The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for the 5th phase of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park with a capacity of 900 megawatts.

Latest development will support the Dewa’s efforts to achieve the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to provide 75 per cent of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy by 2050. This phase will use photovoltaic solar panels and will be commissioned in stages starting from the third quarter of 2021.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dewa, and Mohammad Abunayyan, chairman of ACWA Power, via video conferencing, signed the agreement. “We are building major renewable and clean energy projects. The current operational capacity at the solar park is 1,013MW from photovoltaic solar panels. We have 1,850MW under construction from photovoltaic and

Concentrated Solar Power, with future phases to reach 5,000MW by 2030,” Al Tayer said.

“The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the most ambitious and largest project of its kind worldwide that aims to reduce the carbon footprint in Dubai and transform it into a global model in the clean energy and sustainable green economy,” Abunayyan said.

Dewa gets Baa2 rating

Meanwhile, Moody’s on Wednesday downgraded the rating of Dewa to Baa2 from Baa1 and maintained a negative outlook.“Moody’s expects the coronavirus outbreak will aggravate the structural slowdown in real GDP growth for the Emirate of Dubai, contributing to the further deterioration of fiscal strength of the government via increasing debt levels,” the rating agency said.

Moody’s said Dewa’s financial policies and governance ultimately being controlled by the government of Dubai could materially affect its credit profile.