Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (DEWA) pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant in Hatta will begin exporting clean energy to Dubai in April 2025, according to DEWA’s MD & CEO Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer.
During an inspection visit to the AED1.421 billion facility, Al Tayer revealed that operational tests began in January 2025 for the project, which has reached 96.82 percent completion.
The project supports the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050, which aim to provide 100 percent of Dubai’s total power production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) said in a statement.
DEWA’s Hatta hydroelectric plant to begin power export in April 2025
The plant, the first of its kind in the GCC region, will generate electricity using water stored in the Hatta Dam and a new upper dam in the mountains.
With a production capacity of 250 megawatts (MW) and storage capacity of 1,500 megawatt-hours, the facility has a projected lifespan of 80 years.
The upper dam construction includes a 72-metre-high main wall and a 37-metre-high side dam, which has been filled for trial operation scheduled for the first quarter of 2025.
The facility operates with 78.9 percent turnaround efficiency. Water from the upper dam flows through a 1.2-kilometre subterranean tunnel, converting potential energy into kinetic energy. This process rotates turbines, generating electricity deliverable to DEWA’s grid within 90 seconds.
For energy storage, the plant will utilise clean power from the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park to pump water back to the upper dam, converting electrical power into kinetic energy.
The project forms part of DEWA’s strategy to diversify energy production, which includes solar photovoltaic panels, concentrated solar power, and green hydrogen production.
Follow us on
