Blitz Bureau
DUBAI will start getting electricity from water in Hatta from April this year, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has announced.
Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), announced that the pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant DEWA is developing in Hatta will gradually begin exporting clean energy to Dubai for the first time in April 2025.
He said that the operational tests of the clean energy power plant began in January 2025.
Al Tayer made these announcements during an inspection visit to review progress on the power plant, which is the first of its kind in the GCC region, on February 23.
The project, which is 96.82 per cent complete, is designed to generate electricity using water stored in the Hatta Dam and a newly constructed upper dam in the mountains. The plant will have a production capacity of 250 megawatts (MW), a storage capacity of 1,500 megawatt-hours and a lifespan of up to 80 years with an investment of Dh1.421 billion.
Al Tayer stated that the project aligns with the vision and directives of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice -President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development across the emirate.
He said it also supports the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050, which aim to provide 100 per cent of Dubai’s total power production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.
Al Tayer highlighted that the hydroelectric power plant in Hatta is part of DEWA’s efforts to diversify energy production from renewable and clean sources in Dubai. These include various technologies such as solar photovoltaic panels, concentrated solar power and the use of renewable energy to produce green hydrogen.