Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) said work is progressing at a steady pace on the 950MW Phase Four of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MBR) Solar Park, the largest concentrated solar power (CSP) project globally that features the world’s tallest solar power tower standing at 262.44 m.

Around 87 per cent of the work on the solar tower has already been completed clocking 10 million safe working hours without injuries, it stated.

Dewa said Phase Four of the solarpark is the largest single-site investment project that combines CSP and photovoltaic technology using the IPP model, and is rated for 950 MW. It is being developed on an independent power producer (IPP) model with investments of up to AED15.78 billion ($4.3 billion).

For this phase, it will use 700 MW of CSP (600 MW from a parabolic basin complex, 100 MW from the solar power tower) and 250 MW from photovoltaic solar panels.

On its completion, the project will have the largest thermal storage capacity in the world of 15 hours, allowing for energy availability round the clock. The fourth phase will provide clean energy for around 320,000 residences and reduce 1.6 million tonnes of carbon emissions every year.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of Dewa, said: “Up to 82.7 per cent of the overall project’s first phase has been completed. This includes the solar tower, the parabolic basin complex, and the photovoltaic solar panels. The concrete part of the solar tower is also now complete at a height of 222 m.”

The Molten Salt Receiver (MSR)  was built and assembled on top of the world’s highest solar tower in a remarkable construction process in June last year. The MSR is the centre and the most important part of the solar plant. It receives solar radiation and turns it into thermal energy, he added.

Al Tayer pointed out that the work on pallets and tubes that transfer the molten salt inside the solar tower has been fully completed. He later reviewed the work progress at the Visitors’ Centre of Phase Four of the solar park.