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EDF Renewables has proposed a new pumped storage hydropower plant in the Ras Al Khaimah Municipality, UAE, that will produce up to 5 gigawatts of power. The French company is already in talks with officials from the municipality over the project which would be the biggest in the region. It will be capable of storing energy for up to 12 hours. Furthermore, the “country-level” project is aimed at balancing electricity supply in the United Arab Emirates. Clean energy has recently become a big topic of discussion in the region and this project would further contribute to the efforts.
Currently, most of the clean energy developments, in form of solar farms, are taking place in Abu Dhabi and Dubai however, storage, especially pumped storage requires mountains according to Luc Koechlin, a chief executive of EDF Middle East. The Ras Al Khaimah region is the sixth most populated area in the UAE and is quite mountainous which favors the projects development. Connecting the power grids will help manage the energy generated from nuclear, solar and large-scale storage systems.
Details on the EDF hydropower plant in the UAE
The pumped storage plant would use the power of water to generate electricity using two reservoirs. One of the reservoirs would be positioned higher than the other. During periods where excess electricity is produced, usually from solar and wind power, the power would be used to pump water back up to the higher reservoir. This ingenious process would help make the stored water become a reserve of energy.
The Barakah nuclear plant in Abu Dhabi
Luc Koechlin further mentioned that EDF would be interested in participating in any future nuclear power plant projects in the UAE. The renewables company recently participated in the tender for the Barakah nuclear plant in Abu Dhabi however, they lost the auction to Kepco, a South Korean corporation. The nuclear plant produces a quarter of the UAE’s electricity at 40 terawatt-hours of electricity a year. The reason why country’s may be interested in contracting EDF for nuclear projects is because they are currently developing their own design for small modular reactors (SMR’s). These reactors could be a potential solution for energy generation in the gulf region where they could be used in desalination plants.
EDF and the hydroelectric power station in Hatta Dam
EDF, however, is was contracted to build a 250 MW pumped-storage hydroelectric power station at Hatta Dam. The US$15.8 million project was awarded in 2017 by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). Additionally, the project has a capacity of 1,500 MWh and a lifespan of up to 80 hours. The Hatta Dam hydroelectric station was expected to be completed by the end of 2024. However, it was announced that it would be completed in early 2025 when it will also begin operation.
What’s more, the company was also a part of the consortium led by Masdar which developed the third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai. EDF Renewables holds a 20 per cent stake in Abu Dhabi’s two-gigawatt Al Dhafra solar project, which was inaugurated and launched in 2023. |
