State utility Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) has reviewed work progress on the 1,800MW sixth phase of the Mohamed Bin Rashid (MBR) Solar Park in Dubai.

Dewa and its partner developer, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), announced reaching financial close for the project in February this year.

The MBR phase 6 solar photovoltaic (PV) independent power project (IPP) will require a total investment of AED5.5bn ($1.5bn).

The company implementing the project is Shuaa Energy 4. Dewa owns a 60% stake while Masdar maintains the remaining 40% in the project company.

Masdar, teaming up with engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor China Machinery, submitted a low bid of $cents 1.62154 a kilowatt hour ($c/kWh) for the contract.

Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power, along with EPC contractor China Energy Engineering Corporation, submitted a higher bid of $c1.99/kWh, about 22% more than the levelised electricity cost offered by Masdar.

Dewa received and opened the two bids on 7 June.

The renewable EPC arm of the India-headquartered Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Power Transmission & Distribution will undertake the project's EPC contract.

L&T’s project scope includes the installation of two gas-insulated switchgear units, high-voltage underground cabling and medium-voltage distribution networks, in addition to the solar PV farm.

The solar farm will be built on a 20-square-kilometre plot at the solar park, about 50 kilometres from the city of Dubai. 

This phase of the MBR solar complex "will provide clean energy for approximately 540,000 residences and will reduce around 2.36 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually".

Once completed in 2026, the 1,800MW sixth phase of the solar park will increase its total production capacity to 4,660MW, according to Saeed Mohammed Al-Tayer, Dewa's managing director and CEO.

The complex's total current production capacity is 2,860MW.

Earlier this month, Dewa invited firms to bid for the transaction advisory package for phase seven of the MBR solar park project.

The planned seventh phase of the solar park will include a 1,600MW solar PV plant and a 1,000MW battery energy storage system plant, which can provide up to six hours of storage.

The state utility aims to have about 27% of the generation mix sourced from clean energy by 2030.