Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA)  has invited bids for advisory services to develop a 1,600 MW solar photovoltaic project integrated with a 1,000 MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).

The BESS will deliver six hours of energy storage capacity.

Bids must be submitted by December 17, 2024.

The project is in line with DEWA’s broader initiatives, including a 250 MW pumped-storage plant in Hatta and energy storage within its flagship Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which combines PV and concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies.

In recent months, the UAE has stepped up efforts for the deployment of BESS technology, driven by its need to stabilize the grid and support the country’s broader clean energy goals.

DEWA’s Research and Development Center, which has been instrumental in advancing battery storage solutions, recently filed a patent for a new method to enhance lithium-ion, sodium–sulfur, and electrolyte distribution batteries. By chemically treating electrodes with polymers, the method enhances battery performance in a low-cost and environmentally friendly manner.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park hosts two pilot battery energy storage projects. One, developed in partnership with Tesla, uses lithium-ion technology with a power capacity of 1.21 MW and an energy capacity of 8.61 MWh.

The second, a collaboration with AMPLEX-NGK, features sodium-sulfur (NaS) technology with a 1.2 MW power capacity and a 7.5 MWh energy capacity.

Last June, renewable energy project developer Masdar submitted the lowest bid of $1.62/kWh for the sixth phase of the Al Maktoum Solar Park with a capacity of 1.8 GW.

The Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), which is responsible for developing utilities projects in Abu Dhabi, recently invited bids for its own 400 MW BESS project, scheduled to provide 800 MWh of storage capacity across two facilities in Al-Bihouth and Madinat Zayed.

EWEC intends to increase solar photovoltaic capacity to 7.5 GW by 2030 while reducing carbon emissions intensity from 330 kg/MWh in 2019 to 190 kg/MWh by the same year.

Recently, DEWA announced that its 250 MW pumped hydropower storage project in Hatta will begin trial operations in the first quarter of 2025. The AED1.421 billion (~$387 million) project is claimed to be the first project of its kind in the Arabian Gulf region.