Hassyan Power Complex Adds 1,200 MW To Its Production Capacity

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has disclosed that the current production capacity of Hassyan Power Complex reached 1,200 megawatts (MW), using the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model.

A further 600 MW will be added in Q4 of 2022 and an additional 600 MW will be added by Q3 of 2023. This will raise capacity of Hassyan Power Complex, which has been converted recently to run only on natural gas instead of clean coal, to 2,400MW.

The UAE expects at least 20% of its installed electricity capacity to come from clean sources in three years as OPEC’s third-largest producer boosts renewable and nuclear power generation amid plans to diversify its energy mix and lower its carbon footprint, according to a report by S&P Global Platts.

Based on committed plans, the UAE will have around 50 GW of electricity in three years, with more than 11 GW coming from renewable and nuclear energy sources, the report quoting Yousif al-Ali, the ministry’s assistant undersecretary for electricity, water and future energy affairs, said. Currently the UAE’s installed electricity capacity is about 40 GW.

The UAE, which has a 2050 strategy to produce half its power from renewables and nuclear energy, is revising this roadmap by 2022 and forging ahead with plans to reduce consumption in both electricity and water, he said.

Dual-fuel Plant

The Hassyan Power Complex was initially designed and built-for-purpose as a dual-fuel plant with the ability to operate full-time on both natural gas and clean coal. It now relies only on natural gas.

DEWA’s MD & CEO Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, said that the Hassyan Power Complex adds to the Jebel Ali Power Plant and Water Desalination Complex, as one of the key pillars to providing Dubai with electricity and water services according to the highest standards of reliability, efficiency, and quality.

Jebel Ali has a total production capacity of 9,547 MW of electricity. DEWA’s total production capacity is now 13,417MW, which also includes 1,527 MW of renewable energy using photovoltaic solar panels from the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

“The Hassyan Power Complex, which uses the IPP model, adopts the latest technologies in energy production. The power plant’s turbines were originally designed to operate on dual fuels: gas and clean coal.”

He further said: “When we decided to convert the complex to run on natural gas, there was no downtime and the conversion process went smoothly. This step supports the vision and directives of the wise leadership to turn Dubai into a carbon-neutral economy.”

Supports Clean Energy Strategy

“This also supports the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100% of Dubai’s total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2050. The move also supports our efforts to diversify energy sources and secure energy supplies to ensure providing electricity services according to the highest standards of reliability, availability and efficiency,” said Al Tayer.

The Hassyan Power Complex includes a water desalination project with a production capacity of 120 Million Imperial Gallons per Day using Reverse Osmosis (RO) and the Independent Water Producer model. New RO stations are currently underway, as they use less energy compared to Multi-Stage Flash, which makes it the best option for water desalination.