Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) have signed an agreement to build and operate the 1,800-megawatt sixth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai.

The project is set to be operational in stages, starting from the fourth quarter of 2024, and will increase the solar park's total production capacity to 4,660MW.

The facility is set to be the world's largest single-site solar park, with the total project cost estimated at 50 billion dirhams (US$13.61 billion). The sixth phase is about 5.51 billion dirhams.

Dubai is on track to achieve its goal of 100% clean energy by 2050.

Masdar was selected from 23 international bidders, and offered a levelized cost of energy of 1.6215 US cents per kilowatt hour, the lowest of any of Dewa's solar independent power producer (IPP) model projects to date. 

When completed, the sixth phase will provide clean energy to approximately 540,000 households and reduce carbon emissions by 2.36 million tonnes annually.

"Following our successful delivery of phase three of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park as part of an international consortium, this latest award once again shows that Masdar is a global leader in clean energy as we move forwards from 20GW capacity today to reach 100GW of clean energy capacity by 2030, driving decarbonization at home and abroad,“ says Masdar chief executive officer Mohammed Jameel Al Ramahi.

Established in 2006, Masdar is active in more than 40 countries and has invested in a portfolio of renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of more than 20GW.

From November 30 to December 12, the United Arab Emirates will host the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28).