Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), has said that the pumped-storage hydroelectric power station being built by Dewa in Hatta is 29 per cent complete.

The station will have a production capacity of 250 megawatts (MW), a storage capacity of 1,500 megawatt-hours, and a life span of up to 80 years. This is the first station of its kind in the GCC with investments up to Dhs1.421 billion.

This came during a visit by Al Tayer to the power station accompanied by Nasser Lootah, Executive Vice President of Generation at Dewa; Khalifa Albedwawi, the project manager, and the project’s team.

Al Tayer inspected the construction site of the hydroelectric power station and was briefed on the project’s progress. The first 37-metre-high Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) wall is now complete at the project’s upper dam. The station will use water in the Hatta Dam and an upper dam that is being built in the mountain.

The Hydroelectric power plant is energy storage with a turnaround efficiency of 78.9 per cent that utilises 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-kilometre subterranean tunnel, and this kinetic energy rotates the turbines and converts mechanical energy to electrical energy which is sent to Dewa grid within 90 seconds in response to demand.

Then to store energy again, clean energy generated at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is used to pump the water through this tunnel back to the upper dam by converting the electrical energy to kinetic energy and then finally storing it as potential energy in the upper dam. This makes the whole project 100% renewable.

Al Tayer said that the power plant supports Dewa’s efforts to diversify its energy mix. This diversification includes photovoltaic solar panels, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), green hydrogen production using renewable energy, and studies on wind power generation in Hatta.

The hydroelectric power plant is one of Dewa’s projects to provide innovative job opportunities for the people of Hatta, and the area’s development to meet its social, economic, and environmental needs.

The service tunnelling operations are complete. Each tunnel is 500 metres long. More than 95 per cent of the excavation operations of the 1.2-kilometre subterranean water canal have been completed.

He explained that the 60-metre-deep excavation for the area where the generators will be installed is complete. Now, the work to pour concrete has begun, and pouring of the Roller Compacted Concrete for the first part of the 37-metre-high upper dam wall is now complete. The project has completed 4.6 million safe working hours so far without any injuries.

Dewa is also implementing two other pioneering projects in Hatta; namely, Dubai Mountain Peak and Hatta Sustainable Waterfalls. These projects will promote Hatta’s position as one of the most prominent tourist attractions in Dubai.

Earlier the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has installed 15 electric vehicle (EV) Green Charger stations at Expo 2020 Dubai’s pavilions: Opportunity; Sustainability and Mobility.

The Green Chargers will serve the electric vehicles visitors to the Expo. Dewa has installed five Green Chargers at each pavilion, enough to charge 30 electric vehicles simultaneously, in addition to two stations currently being built at the Expo office.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dewa, said that installing 17 Green Charger stations at Expo 2020 Dubai is part of Dewa’s efforts to support the vision of the wise leadership to host the best edition of the Expo in Dubai. This also supports the Smart Dubai initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai the smartest and happiest city in the world.

“As the Official Sustainable Energy Partner of Expo 2020 Dubai, Dewa has allocated Dhs4.26 billion to support infrastructure projects for electricity and water networks at the exhibition, using the latest smart systems. It will also supply Expo 2020 Dubai with clean energy from the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world,” added Al Tayer.

Dewa has installed over 300 Green Chargers across Dubai. It provides a free charging service at public charging stations for non-commercial EV owners registered in the Green Charger service until 31 December 2021.

Meanwhile the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (Dewa’s) water laboratory, based at its Sustainable Building in Al Quoz, has received the ISO/IEC 17025:2017 certification for laboratories. The ISO and the Emirates International Accreditation Centre (EIAC) uses the standard to define the requirements for the efficiency of testing and calibration laboratories. It ensures the technical compliance and efficiency of laboratories.