First Solar to supply photovoltaic modules for phase-2 of Dubai project

First Solar  is to supply photovoltaic modules for the second phase (200-MW) of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai.

Photovoltaic modules of First Solar are already part of the first phase (13-MW) development of the solar park.

Modules delivered by the company are also being installed at Shams Ma’an solar photovoltaic plant (a 52.5-MW project) under construction in Jordan. It is scheduled for completion in the second half of 2016.

The company already has more than 10 gigawatts of installed capacity worldwide.

According to a statement issued by First Solar, its modules possess superior temperature coefficient and spectral response. And, they have been independently certified for reliable performance in high temperature and humidity as well as extreme desert and coastal environments.

“The modules have been independently tested to pass accelerated life and stress tests beyond industry standards,” the statement adds.

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is being developed by a consortium led by water and power developer ACWA Power.

And Dubai Electricity and Water Authority selected Spanish engineering and construction company TSK to develop, construct, own and operate the independent power project.

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According to the consortium, the project will deliver electricity at ¢5.84 per kilowatt-hour, reducing the cost of solar electricity by more than 20 percent.

The solar park will be the largest facility of its kind in the Middle East when it is completed in 2017. It will cover 4.5 million square meters, which is the equivalent of 100 soccer pitches put together.

And the facility is expected to produce adequate power to meet the needs of 30,000 average households in the UAE. Also it will displace more than 469,650 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.

More than 2.36 million modules to be supplied by First Solar will be installed in the ongoing phase of construction. In the first phase the project utilized 152,880 modules.

The project makes First Solar the top provider of photovoltaic solutions in the Middle East. The company is projected to have installed capacity of at least 270 MW across the region by 2017.

Ajith Kumar S

[email protected]