Swiss automation company ABB has delivered a 400/132 kilovolt (kV) gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) substation for the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA)’s Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MBR) Solar Park in UAE.
The GIS substation will help generate power from the Dubai located solar plant. It will connect the second phase of the Dubai solar park besides integrating 200MW of power to the transmission grid.
ABB had handled the GIS substation’s design, engineering, supply, installation and commissioning.
ABB power grids division president Claudio Facchin said: “Our state-of-the-art GIS substation will boost transmission capacity and bring clean solar power to the people.
“Integrating renewables is a key element of our Next Level strategy as a partner of choice for enabling a stronger, smarter and greener grid.”
The Swiss company had supplied crucial products such as 11 bays of 400kV and 21 bays of compact 132kV GIS, power transformers and IEC 61850-based open architecture automation and control systems for the solar project.
DEWA managing director and CEO HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said: “DEWA works to build world-class energy infrastructure that meets Dubai’s development demands. This is part of our ongoing efforts to achieve our ambitious strategy and plans, to deliver the highest standards of availability, reliability and efficiency in a sustainable manner, while minimizing environmental impact.”
The MBR Solar Park is expected to play a key role in Dubai’s vision of generating 7% of its power from clean energy sources. UAE aims to grow the share of clean power by 25% in 2030, and 75% by 2050.
According to ABB, the utility scale solar photovoltaic plant will cover 4.5km2 and provide clean energy to meet the electricity requirements of over 130,000 people.
Image: ABB commissioned a GIS substation for the MBR Solar Park in Dubai. Photo: courtesy of ABB.