Powerpack storage system put into operation in what will soon be the world’s largest solar park
Powerpacks from Tesla in the solar park in Dubai. (Image: Tesla)
The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park in the United Arab Emirates will soon be the largest solar park in the world. The operators rely on Tesla Powerpacks.
With an installed capacity of around one gigawatt, the Mohammed-bin-Rashid-Al-Maktoum solar park in the United Arab Emirates is already the largest solar park in the Middle East. An installed capacity of five gigawatts is planned for the final expansion at the end of the decade – this would make the system near the city of Dubai the largest solar park in the world. The operating company Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has now put the Tesla Powerpacks used for storage into operation.
The Tesla batteries expand the storage capacity of the giant project and serve to diversify the energy mix, as DEWA calls it. In view of the sheer size of the solar system, however, the capacity of the Tesla Powerpacks seems comparatively small. According to Teslarati the installation should be a pilot project. The power / capacity of the Tesla batteries in the solar park is given as 1.21 megawatts or 8.61 megawatt hours.
“The pilot project will evaluate the technical and economic performance of this technology in the context of the operation of power systems in photovoltaic solar power plants,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, CEO of DEWA. In addition, the role of Tesla’s storage technology in the interplay of clean energy and energy storage will also be examined. The goal is to achieve maximum efficiency and reliability, says Al Tayer.
DEWA is testing other storage solutions in the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park. This includes a sodium-sulfur battery (Na-S) with an output / capacity of 1.2 megawatts or 7.5 megawatt hours. It is also possible, according to Teslarati, that the megapacks from Tesla could also be tested in view of the size of the solar park that is still being expanded. These giant storage systems are currently being used in Australia, among others – a megapack caught fire at the end of July.
