Second phase of Solar Park inaugurated in Dubai

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) officially inaugurated the second phase of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park on Monday.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the 200MW second phase, enough to generate clean energy for 50,000 residences in Dubai and will reduce 214,000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year. 
The 2.3-million photovoltaic (PV) solar panels are spread over 4.5 square kilometers. The Dh1.2 billion project incorporated 1.5 million safe man hours, with more than 1100 manpower who built the plant. 
Coinciding with the International Day of Happiness, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of DEWA, said the "national landmark will contribute to the happiness of society and generations to come." 
He noted that the park will help focus on happiness of people and balance the need for developments with preservation of environment. 
He was speaking to delegates and senior officials who included Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan bin Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, deputy prime minister of UAE, and minister of presidential affairs. 
The independent Power Producer (IPP) model project, which took less than 360 days to complete and was opened ahead of its launching day, was led by Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power, with Spain's TSK providing EPC services and the US' First Solar providing solar panels for the project. 
The Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park will be the largest single-site solar energy project in the world, with a planned total production capacity of 1,000 megawatts by 2020 and 5,000 megawatts by 2030, enough to power 800,000 homes with a total investment of Dh50 billion. When completed, the solar park will reduce over 6.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. 
As part of its Clean Energy Strategy, Dubai is looking to have 7 per cent of its total power output from clean energy sources in the next four years, followed by 25 per cent by 2030 and 75 per cent by 2050.
The park's 13MW first phase was launched  on October 2013 contributing to reducing carbon emissions. The project, which uses over 152,000 photocells, generates over 28 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually and has decreased carbon emissions by 15,000 tonnes annually.
The third phase, led by Abu Dhabi's Masdar to develop 800MW, will be implemented in stages until 2020. It achieved a world record low tariff of $2.99 cents per kilowatt under a competitive bidding process. 
DEWA is also working to build the largest Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project in the world. The 200-megawatt first phase will be operational by April 2021 through which DEWA will generate 1,000MW by 2030.