23 June 2015

First Solar modules to power 200MW second-phase PV project in Dubai

First Solar Inc of Tempe, AZ, USA, which makes thin-film photovoltaic modules based on cadmium telluride (CdTe) as well as providing engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) services, has agreed to supply its PV modules to power the 200MWAC second phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Earlier this year, a consortium led by ACWA Power (a water and power developer, owner and operator based in Saudi Arabia) and Spanish engineering and construction firm TSK was selected by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) to develop, construct, own and operate the independent power project. According to the 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%.

When completed in early 2017, the utility-scale solar plant will be the largest facility of its kind in the Middle East, producing enough energy to power 30,000 average homes in the UAE and displacing over 469,650 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. The project will be powered by more than 2.36 million First Solar modules, compared with the 152,880 that were installed in the 13MWAC first phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The plant will be built over an area of almost 4.5 million square meters (equivalent to 100 soccer pitches).

"ACWA Power's commitment to deliver reliable and sustainable electricity at the lowest kW-hr tariff is reflected clearly in the win it has secured in the second phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park," says ACWA Power's president & CEO Paddy Padmanathan. "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," he adds. "The organic performance growth program that First Solar is developing with their photovoltaic modules sets a benchmark in the PV industry."

"This milestone project will establish a new benchmark for the reliable, affordable and sustainable generation of solar energy in the Middle East and around the world," reckons Alfonso Targhetta, procurement managing director and board member at TSK.  

"In this competitive environment, the decision to power the project with First Solar technology is testament to the ability of our high-performance modules to reliably deliver energy, even in challenging operating conditions," says Ahmed S. Nada, VP & 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 270MW across the region by 2017."  First Solar modules already power the 13MWAC first phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park and will be installed at the 52.5MWAC Shams Ma'an solar PV plant, currently under construction in Jordan and scheduled for completion in second-half 2016.

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