Dubai’s 250 MW/1,500 MWh pumped-storage project nearing completion

DEWA has finished building 74% of its pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant site, according to a company statement. The project in Hatta will be completed by the first half of 2025.

The AED 1.421 billion ($368.8 million) project will have a capacity of 250 MW/1,500 MWh. It will have a lifespan of 80 years, a turnaround efficiency of 78.9%, and a response to demand for energy within 90 seconds.

“The hydroelectric power plant is an energy storage with turnaround efficiency of 78.9%,” the statement added. “It utilizes the potential energy of the water stored in the upper dam which is converted to kinetic energy during the flow of water through the 1.2-kilometer subterranean tunnel and this kinetic energy rotates the turbine and converts mechanical energy to electrical energy which is sent to DEWA grid.”

The company has now finished the project’s upper dam, including a water upper intake structure and associated bridge. It has also concluded the construction of the 72-meter concrete wall of the upper dam.

In June 2022, the construction of the facility stood at 44%. At the time, DEWA said it would also store electricity from the 5 GW Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The facility, which is partly operational and partly under construction, is the biggest solar plant in the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East.