Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum inaugurated on Tuesday the first project of the third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The first project encompasses 200 megawatts (MW) out 800MW. The solar park is one of the major projects that the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, DEWA, is implementing based on the Independent Power Producer, IPP, system in partnership with a consortium led by Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Masdar and EDF Group, through its subsidiary EDF Energies Nouvelles. The second and third stages of the third phase, which have a capacity of 300MW each, will be completed in 2019 and 2020 respectively. "Today marks the commissioning of the first stage of the third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. This phase is a key milestone and shows our strong belief in the role of clean energy in shaping a sustainable future,” Managing Director and CEO of DEWA Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said. “This supports the UAE’s efforts to strengthen its leading global position in clean energy through such major projects.” He added that it also contributes to realizing the vision of the wise leadership for a post-oil era. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum launched in 2012 a pioneering strategy that has markedly changed the progress of sustainability in the UAE and the region, extending its impact to the entire world. This was the UAE Green Growth Strategy under the theme “A Green Economy for Sustainable Development.” “The pinnacle of this journey was the launch of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in 2012,” he noted, adding that Dubai adapted the IPP model to achieve industry-defining world records. These have reduced solar electricity tariffs for large solar projects and the worlds biggest investments to generate positive economic returns. In June 2016, the country witnessed the signing of the partnership agreement between DEWA and a consortium led by Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) to implement the 800MW third phase of the solar park. The park is being built in stages, using photovoltaic solar panels, at the lowest levelized cost of energy in the world at 2.99 US cents per kilowatt hour. “Today shows the initial fruits of the combined efforts of DEWA, Masdar and EDF, because there is more to come," Tayer continued. The remaining stages of the third phase of the solar park are currently under construction to generate a further 600MW, for a total of 800MW by 2020. The total capacity of the photovoltaic and Concentrated Solar Power IPP–based projects is 1,500MW. After the inauguration of this leading milestone, solar power will now generate four percent of Dubai’s total installed capacity.