DUBAI (XINHUA) – In the heart of the desert, 65 kilometres (km) south of Dubai’s glittering skyline, a 262-metre solar thermal tower rises from the sands like a futuristic beacon.
Surrounding it, a shimmering field of 70,000 heliostats extends radially, their mirrors capturing and directing the sun’s rays to a molten salt receiver at the tower’s peak.
As the sunlight converges in dazzling beams, the scene resembles a surreal, high-tech oasis where innovation meets the boundless energy of the desert sun.
This is the fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai, a key cooperative project to promote the construction of a Green Silk Road between China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In November 2018, Shanghai Electric Group Co Ltd undertook the project as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor. With a total installed capacity of 950 megawatts (MW), including 700MW of solar thermal-electric power units and 250MW of photovoltaic power units, the project covers an area of 44 square km, equivalent to over 6,000 standard soccer fields.
As of February this year, all power generation units in the project have been successfully connected to the grid and started commercial operation, with a cumulative electricity generation of 3.5 billion kilowatt-hours. During the construction phase, this project has created approximately 50,000 local jobs.
Omar Al Hassan, executive managing director of the project, told Xinhua that the project supplies green energy to 320,000 local households and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1.6 million tonnes annually.
“We keep the sun at night and light up Dubai after sunset,” said Zhao Hui, the project manager.
The project, he said, utilises world-leading solar thermal technology, and is capable of consistently and stably converting solar energy into electricity. Unlike traditional photovoltaic power plants, which experience significant load fluctuations in different solar exposure situations and cannot generate power at night, the solar thermal storage plant can store large amounts of heat generated during sunny periods, ensuring stable power generation across day and night, and even under adverse weather conditions.
Zhao said that the project’s solar thermal power units use both tower and parabolic trough technologies and feature a wireless power and control system for the heliostats, allowing for wireless smart tracking of the sunlight and enhanced heat collection efficiency. Additionally, the project boasts the world’s largest molten salt thermal storage system, with a storage duration of up to 15 hours.
In December 2023, the UAE’s Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum attended the project’s inauguration ceremony. “The UAE has a clear vision to transform itself into one of the world’s most sustainable nations,” he said, referring to the launch of the fourth phase of the solar park as an important milestone in the country’s sustainability journey.
