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Renewables giant Acwa Power has received the commercial operation certificate to begin operating Phase C of the 900 MW Shuaa Energy 3 solar project in Dubai — a part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MBR) solar park in the UAE, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul.
Ironing out the details: Commercial operations are set to be launched at the solar project’s Phase C, which will have a capacity of 300 MW, Acwa Power said. The complete plant, which has an investment ticket of USD 570 mn, has achieved commercial operation with a total capacity of 900 MW, it said. Acwa Power expects the financial impact of the commercial operations at Phase C to be reflected on its financials in Q3 this year. The MBR solar park, which is the world’s largest single-site solar park using the IPP model, will have a production capacity of 5 GW by 2030 and will help slash 6.5 mn tons of carbon emissions annually upon completion.
A look at ownership: Shuaa Energy 3 is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up to develop the fifth phase of the MBR solar park. Dubai state utility Dewa owns a 60% stake and is the sole off-taker of power, while Acwa Power holds a 24% stake. The Gulf Investment Corporation holds the remaining 16%.
Acwa continues to be busy this year: The Tadawul-listed utility signed earlier this month a SAR 18.2 bn (c. USD 4.9 bn) power purchase agreement to develop a new 5 GW wind farm in Uzbekistan — set to become the largest in Central Asia. It signed a water purchase agreement for Senegal’s first desalination project under a public-private partnership and a power purchase agreement for Uzbekistan’s Nukus2 200 MW wind farm and battery energy storage system. Acwa Power also received the commercial operation certificate to begin operating the third and final phase of its 1.5 GW Sudair solar project. It also received a similar certificate for its Al Taweelah desalination plant in Abu Dhabi. It also achieved financial close for the solar-powered Hassyan water desalination project in Dubai.
