Gulf’s first hydroelectric plant to be ready in Dubai in 2025

Wam

The Gulf region’s first hydroelectric plant in Hatta is 80 percent complete and forecast to be completed by early 2025, the emirate’s utility provider said on Thursday.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) in December said that the AED1.42 billion ($387 million) plant – the first of its kind in the GCC – was planned for completion in the fourth quarter of 2024.

• Dewa advances fourth phase of $4.3bn Dubai solar park
• Dewa selects Acwa Power to develop $914m water project
• Dubai utility provider approves $1.3bn dividend payout

The project will have a capacity of 250 MW, a storage capacity of 1,500 MWh, and a lifespan of 80 years.

The plant will use water from the Hatta Dam and a newly constructed upper reservoir in the mountains.

It will be an energy storage facility with a turnaround efficiency of 78.9 percent that utilises the water stored in the upper dam, which is converted to kinetic energy during the flow of water through the 1.2-kilometre subterranean tunnel.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and chief executive of Dewa, said the project will contribute to Dubai’s aim for generating 100 percent of energy from clean sources by 2050.