The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has flipped the switch on an energy storage pilot project using Tesla Megapacks at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.
According to the DEWA the project has a power capacity of 1.21 MW and an energy capacity of 8.61MWh, and is expected to have a life span of up to 10 years. The new Megapacks will add to an existing 1.2MW/7.2MWh battery energy storage facility built in 2018 using a sodium sulphur (NaS) energy solution.
“The energy storage project using Tesla’s lithium-ion battery solution at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world, aims to diversify the energy mix and enhance energy storage technologies,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.
The Megapack battery storage solution is setup for bi-direction charging allowing them to be charged from the solar arrays and also send energy to the grid. The project will help Dubai achieve its Clean Energy Strategy 2050 goal of providing 75% of the city’s total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.
“The pilot project will evaluate the technical and economic capabilities of this technology within the operational framework of electricity systems in solar photovoltaic power plants. It also tests the role of this technology in the integration between clean energy and energy storage to achieve maximum efficiency and reliability,” added Al Tayer.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park has a current generation capacity of about 1,013MW. Ove subsequent phases that number is expected to increase to 5GW, reports PV Magazine.
