Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) launched the final stage of bidding for the third phase of the Dh50-billion ($13.6 billion) Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park by hosting a conference for interested developers last month.

The conference was aimed at qualifying international developers who intend to send their proposals for the third phase of the park which will produce 800 MW of electricity on completion.

The project’s capacity will reach 1,000 MW by 2020 and 5,000 MW by 2030.

The solar park is the largest single-site strategic renewable energy project of its kind in the world, based on the independent power producer (IPP) model.

The first phase with a capacity of 13 MW became operational in 2013, while the 200 MW second phase will be come alive by 2017 followed by the final phase with 800 MW which will be operational by 2020.

The project is aimed at achieving a reduction of 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

The conference helped clarify details of the last stage of the bid and answer the technical, financial and legal questions of the companies.

Dewa managing director and CEO Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said the interest shown by international companies in the park reflected their trust in projects supported by the government.

• Dewa has inaugurated a 1.5 MW direct current (MWdc) photovoltaic (PV) generation project at Jebel Ali, one of the largest single-rooftop arrays in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, and connected it to the grid.