- ACWA Power is the developer of the 700MW CSP megaproject to be located in Seih Al-Dahal.
- New CSP technology has gone under double digits, reaching 7.3 cents per kilowatt-hour.
- The molten salt tanks will store 15 hours’ worth of capacity, more than enough to cover night time generation.
- The project is expected to be completed in 2030.
The world’s biggest Solar Concentrated Plant (CSP) is set to be built in the United Arab Emirates. ACWA Power is the developer of the 700MW megaproject to be located in Seih Al-Dahal, about 30 miles south from Dubai. The project is expected to be completed in 2030.
Abdulhameed Al-Muhaidib, director of asset management at Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, told Arab News yesterday “CSP is a completely different technology because you have to do a heat exchange and (use) steam turbines, a process that makes it more expensive than solar PV. The main benefit is storage because you can store heat, while in panels you can’t and lithium batteries are still expensive.”
“The reason (for turning to CSP) is very simple — it’s driven by the tariff, where PV and wind have already internationally given a lower tariff and are basically cheaper compared with conventional energy,” Al-Muhaidib told Arab News . “But for the first time, the price for the new CSP technology has gone under double digits, reaching 7.3 cents per kilowatt-hour.”
In the case of the Dubai project, these molten salt tanks will store 15 hours’ worth of capacity, more than enough to cover night time generation. The project will involve building an 853-foot solar tower, which its developers claim will be the largest in the world.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
