Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company Masdar has emerged as the winner of phase VI of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park (MBR Solar Park) after the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) picked the company to build 1.8 GW PV project

Masdar was selected as the preferred bidder for offering the winning bid of $0.016215/kWh. DEWA calls it the lowest levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for any of its solar independent power producer (IPP) projects to date

The Abu Dhabi company will build and operate the project on IPP model for up to AED 5.51 billion ($1.50 billion) investment. It will target to bring the project online in stages, starting from Q4/2024.

Of the 5 GW targeted capacity of MBR Solar Park, DEWA counts 2.427 GW to have come online so far. Once phase VI is online, its total commissioned capacity will grow to 4.66 GW. ACWA Power completed 900 MW solar capacity under phase V of the project in June 2023, 6 months ahead of schedule (see 900 MW Solar Capacity Online In Dubai).

“The share of clean energy in Dubai’s energy mix is about 16.3% of its total installed capacity. This percentage will reach 24% in 2026 with the completion of the Sixth Phase and the remaining phases under construction of the solar park,” said DEWA MD & CEO Mohammed Al Tayer.

Masdar overtook ACWA Power to win phase VI auction for which DEWA received interest from a total 23 bidders. It selected 7 international bidders for request for proposal (RFP) round (see DEWA Update For 5 GW Solar Project).

Recently Masdar completed a $750 million 10-year green bond offering on the London Stock Exchange that it says was more than 5 times oversubscribed with strong interest from regional and international investors. It is part of the company’s plan to raise up to $3 billion to meet the funding requirements to achieve 100 GW renewable energy portfolio by 2030, globally, up from over 20 GW now.