Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has started trial operations and electricity exports from the new pumped storage hydroelectric power plant in Hatta.
HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, announced the milestone during a site visit to review the final stages of the project. He said that testing of the facility has already produced more than 17,921MWh of electricity.
The plant has a production capacity of 250MW, a storage capacity of 1,500MWh, and an expected lifespan of up to 80 years. Hatta’s peak electricity demand is about 39MW, with surplus power being exported to Dubai.
Al Tayer visited the facility with senior DEWA officials including Nasser Lootah, Executive Vice President of Generation (Power & Water), and project manager Khalifa Al Bedwawi.
He said the project supports the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and contributes to the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and Dubai Net-Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050, which aim to generate all of Dubai’s energy from clean sources by 2050.
During the visit, Al Tayer inspected the power station building, located 60m underground, as well as the station’s two main water valves, each weighing about 110 tonnes. He also reviewed the command and control centre and witnessed an operational test of the water pumping and power generation system.
The tour included the upper dam built by DEWA as part of the project. The dam has a water surface area of 210,000 square metres and a storage capacity of about 5.3 million cubic metres. Its main wall is 72m high and 225m long, alongside a side wall 37m high.
Al Tayer noted that the AED 1.42 billion project is part of DEWA’s efforts to expand clean energy production. He said it complements other technologies such as solar photovoltaic panels, concentrated solar power and battery storage.
