Dubai's Hatta hydroelectric power plant nears 60% completion mark

Hatta's hydroelectric power plant is more than 58 per cent complete. Photo: Dewa

Construction of Hatta's hydroelectric power plant is 58.48 per cent complete, authorities announced on Monday.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) said construction of the 72m main Roller Compacted Concrete wall of the upper dam and the concrete lining of the water tunnel is complete.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and chief executive of Dewa, visited the power plant site to check progress on the project.

He inspected the progress made on the water tunnel, which is 1.2km long and connects the two dams.

He also visited the power generators site and the upper dam.

The station will have a production capacity of 250 megawatts, a storage capacity of 1,500 megawatt hours and a lifespan of up to 80 years.

It will be the first of its kind in the GCC, built with an investment of Dh1.421 billion ($387 million). The project is planned for completion in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The plant will help achieve the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100 per cent of Dubai’s total power production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.

These include different technologies such as solar photovoltaic panels, concentrated solar power, and green hydrogen production using renewable energy.

The project will also support the plan to develop Hatta and meet its social, economic, developmental and environmental needs, as well as provide job opportunities for Emiratis in the area.

To function, water stored in the upper dam will flow through the underground tunnel, rotating turbines. The mechanical energy from the rotating turbines will then be converted into electrical energy and sent to the Dewa power grid.

To reuse the water, clean energy generated by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park will be used to pump it back through the tunnel and return it to the upper dam, making the project 100 per cent renewable.

The power plant's response time to heightened demand for energy is expected to be fewer than 90 seconds.

Dewa’s 250MW Hatta hydroelectric power plant — in pictures