Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has issued a request for proposal (RFP) for appointing consultants to conduct studies for the development and construction of floating solar photovoltaic (PV) plants in the Arabian Gulf.

This is a new and innovative initiative by Dewa to use solar power that supports the objectives of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 (DCES 2050) to diversify the energy mix in Dubai, to make the emirate a global hub for clean energy and green economy, and provide 75 per cent of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy by 2050, said the Dubai utility.

The scope of work includes a feasibility study, the technical requirements for a floating solar PV plant, an environmental impact assessment report, a study of the marine requirements, and other necessary studies on setting up the electrical transmission, a safety plan, and seawater feasibility studies including tidal and system specifications, and system performance, it stated.

According to Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the managing director and chief executive of Dewa, floating PV systems are one of the most prominent emerging technologies that rely on installing solar photovoltaic systems directly above water.

Achieving the objectives of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 will require a production capacity of 42,000 MW of clean and renewable energy by 2050, he said.

“Dewa has launched several ambitious initiatives and projects to achieve these objectives, including the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. This is the largest single-site solar park in the world, based on the independent power project (IPP) model, with a planned capacity of 5,000 MW by 2030 at a total investment of Dh50 billion ($13.6 billion), he added.