WATCH: UAE breaks ground on world's biggest solar power project

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, broke ground on the 700MW fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the biggest Concentrated Solar Power /CSP/ project in the world.

The start of the new project advances the UAE's global leadership in the use of clean and renewable energy.

He said that developing the UAE's infrastructure is top priority for the leadership and vital to raising the country's global competitiveness. The UAE is developing a new model for sustainability and innovation and is keen to find creative solutions based on international best practices and benchmarks.

The project, which features the world's tallest solar tower measuring 260 meters and the world's largest thermal energy storage capacity, will provide clean energy to over 270,000 residences in Dubai, reducing 1.4 million tons of carbon emissions a year.

The CSP project will use two technologies for the production of clean energy: the 600MW parabolic basin complex and the 100MW solar tower over a total area of 43 square kilometers.

This project, which features an investment of AED14.2 billion, has achieved the world's lowest Leveled Cost of Electricity /LCOE/ of USD 7.3 cents per kilowatt hour /kW/h/. This is a new global achievement for the UAE.