The Noor Energy 1 turbine supply contract is Siemens' largest order in the CSP market. (Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)

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Siemens to supply four turbines to 700 MW Dubai CSP project

Germany's Siemens is to provide four steam turbine generators and auxiliary equipment to ACWA Power's 700 MW Noor Energy 1 CSP project in Dubai, the company announced January 7.

The $4.4 billion Noor Energy 1 project will also incorporate a 250 MW PV plant to create a 950 MW CSP-PV complex. The plant is expected to be brought online in phases in 2021-2022.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) owns 50% of the project while ACWA Power owns around 26% and China's Silk Road holds 24%.

Awarded at a record-low levelized tariff of $73/MWh, the Noor Energy 1 plant will host some 15 hours of molten salt CSP storage capacity and supply power 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The project partners have signed a 35-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with DEWA. This is around 10 years longer than typical arrangements, spreading the initial investment across a longer period and reducing the annual cost of capital.

The project includes three 200 MW parabolic trough systems supplied by Spain’s Abengoa and a 100 MW central tower plant supplied by U.S. developer BrightSource, plus 250 MW of PV.

The Siemens supply contract includes three 206 MW turbines for the three parabolic trough units and a 108.5 MW turbine for the central tower unit.

"Given the nature of CSP operations, it is essential that the steam turbines used in these plants be highly efficient and offer rapid start-up times," Siemens said in a statement.

China's Shanghai Electric is the EPC Contractor for Noor Energy 1 and has started construction under a limited notice to proceed (NTP).

Project financing is expected to be closed in the coming weeks.

Saudi Arabia targets 2.7 GW of CSP capacity by 2030: reports

Saudi Arabia aims to build 2.7 GW of CSP capacity by 2030 in a new plan set out by the government on January 9, local media reported.

Saudi Arabia is looking to reduce its reliance on hydrocarbons as part of a wider plan to diversify its economy.

In total, Saudi Arabia plans to build 58.7 GW of renewable capacity by 2030, including 40 GW of PV capacity and 16 GW of wind, the reports said. Some 27.3 GW of this capacity would be built by 2023. This is far higher than Saudi Arabia’s previous target of 9.5 GW by 2023, which included 1 GW of CSP.

Global CSP capacity is forecast to grow by 87%, or 4.3 GW, in 2018-2023, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its Renewables 2018 report published in October. This represents 32% faster growth than in 2012-2017.

This baseline scenario includes 1.9 GW of new capacity in China, 1 GW of new projects in Morocco and South Africa, 1 GW in the Middle East and the remainder in Australia and Chile.

Under an accelerated growth scenario with faster development of announced projects, CSP installations could rise by a further 2.6 GW over the next five years, the IEA said.

The accelerated growth scenario includes 0.6 GW of further capacity in China, 0.6 GW in South Africa, 0.4 GW in Morocco, 0.3 GW in Chile, and 0.3 GW in United Arab Emirates (UAE), the agency said.

                                   Forecast global CSP installations

                                                              (Click image to enlarge)

Source: International Energy Agency (IEA), October 2018.

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