Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has completed the engineering studies related to the 250MW hydroelectric power station in Hatta, which will use the water stored in the Hatta Dam.
This is part of the AED58 million consultancy contract that DEWA awarded to France’s EDF Group in June 2017, and covers all design, hydro-geological, geological, environmental, geotechnical, and deep excavation studies.
It also includes consultancy on deep-water tunnel designs, the upper reservoir and hydroelectric power station, the tender for material supply, supervision of construction work, site installation, on-site testing and commissioning.
DEWA said the project is the first of its kind in the Arabian Gulf, with a total capacity of 250MW by hydroelectricity from water stored in the Hatta Dam, and a lifespan of up to 80 years.
Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of DEWA, said: “In addition to being a low-cost reliable and efficient source of clean energy, hydropower is the most important source for energy storage. It is estimated that storage hydropower represents 99 percent of the world’s operational electricity storage.”
The hydroelectric power station will generate electricity by making use of the water in the Hatta Dam, which can store up to 1,716 million gallons, and an upper reservoir that will be built in the mountain that can store up to 880 million gallons.
The upper reservoir will be 300 metres above the dam level. During off-peak hours, turbines that use clean and cheap solar energy will pump water from the lower dam to the upper reservoir.
During peak-load hours, when production costs are high, turbines operated by the speed of waterfall from the upper reservoir will be used to generate electricity and connect it to DEWA’s grid.
The hydropower move is part of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, which aims to increase the share of clean energy mix in Dubai to 75 percent.
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