The 900MW fifth phase of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (DEWA) Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park has been inaugurated in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

It will power 270,000 households in the city while avoiding 1.18 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

Developed with an investment of Dh2bn ($544.4m), this phase was implemented by DEWA, which holds a 60% stake, along with a consortium of Acwa Power and the Gulf Investment Corporation which holds the remaining 40% stake.

The 5GW project is considered to be the largest single-site solar park in the world.

Being developed with a total estimated investment of Dh50bn ($13.6bn), the solar project is expected to be fully commissioned by 2030.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park could save more than 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere annually.

Inaugurating the park, UAE prime minister and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum stated: “The UAE is at the forefront of global efforts to create a more sustainable future for all of humanity by taking concrete action to transition to renewable energies and combat climate change.

“In 2023, the UAE’s Year of Sustainability and the year in which we are hosting COP28 [the United Nations Climate Change Conference], we continue to place sustainability at the heart of our development plans and make new strides in shaping a truly environmentally friendly economy. The completion of the fifth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park takes us another major step closer to realising our vision for an economy fully powered by clean energy.”

The first phase of the project generated 13MW from 153,000 panels and was inaugurated in October 2013.

It was followed by a 200MW second phase in March 2017, built with an investment of Dh1.2bn ($326.6m).

The 800MW third phase was built in three stages which became operational in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

The 950MW fourth phase was built with an investment of Dh15.78bn ($4.29bn). It includes a combination of concentrated solar power (CSP) thermal and photovoltaic (PV) technologies.

It generates 700MW from CSP, of which 600MW is generated from a parabolic basin complex and 100MW from a solar tower. The remaining 250MW is generated from PV.

The thermal system can store energy for up to 15 hours and provides round-the-clock energy availability.