Andritz has announced it has signed a contract – as part of a consortium with the European construction group Strabag – with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) to supply and commission the entire electro and hydro-mechanical equipment for the Hatta pumped storage plant in Dubai.
The full contract has been valued at more than €100 million. As part of the deal, Andritz will provide the electromechanical equipment for two 125MW Francis-type pump turbines with double-fed asynchronous generators and auxiliary systems, all gates and trashracks, 320m of penstocks, main inlet valves, main power transformers, GIS switchyard, and high-voltage cables to connect the new power plant to the national grid. A detailed model test to guarantee the characteristics of the turbine will be conducted in Andritz’s own test laboratories.
Hatta will be the first project of its kind on the Arabian Peninsula. The final concept is based on a shaft-type powerhouse close to the existing hydro reservoir, capable of providing 250MW for six hours. Due to the relatively limited reservoir capacity, the available head will vary significantly between 175 and 125m during the cycle. To overcome this substantial variation in head but still keep the units running at a high efficiency level over the complete cycle, both pump turbine units are equipped with double-fed asynchronous motor-generators, allowing the units to operate at variable speed.
Dubai has the clear goal to diversify the emirate’s energy mix and increase the share of renewable energy from the current level of 7 to 75% by 2050. To achieve this ambitious target, DEWA decided not only to increase the share of power generation from renewable sources, like photovoltaics and wind power, but also to build the necessary pumped storage capacity required to balance the volatility of these renewable energy sources.
Startup for the new project is expected for the first quarter of 2024.
