Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) said its joint venture firm Hassyan Energy Company has awarded a major engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to Harbin Electric International and General Electric (GE) for its ambitious 2,400 megawatt (MW) Hassyan Clean Coal project.

Hassyan Energy Company is a joint venture between Dewa (51 per cent) and Acwa Power Harbin Holding Company (49 per cent).

The signing of the EPC agreement follows the close of the 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) between Dewa and Saudi-based Acwa Power for the development of Phase One of the Hassyan Clean Coal independent power project (IPP) project.

The first clean coal power plant in the Middle East, Hassyan will see the ultra-supercritical plant deliver best-in-class performance on efficiency, output and adherence to global environmental best practices.

The EPC agreement pushes forward the development of the project, which will produce 2,400 MW of net electricity using clean coal, stated Saeed Al Tayer, the managing director and chief executive of Dewa after signing the deal with Qu Aimin, the vice-chairman of Harbin Electric International, and Andreas Lusch, the president and chief executive of GE’s Steam Power Systems.

It will also works towards achieving the objectives outlined in Dubai’s Clean Energy Strategy 2050, in particular the fifth pillar, which prioritises eco-friendly energy according to the following percentages: 25 per cent - solar energy, seven per cent each for nuclear energy and clean coal and 61 per cent natural gas by 2030.

According to him, the first unit is expected to be operational by March 2020 – before Expo 2020 in Dubai.

Phase One of the project - which consists of four units of 600 MW net power each - will be operational in March 2020, March 2021, March 2022 and March 2023, respectively.

Lauding the project, Al Tayer said it reflects Dewa's commitment to achieve Dubai’s Clean Energy Strategy 2050, which considers the production of electricity through the use of clean coal a key component.

"Hassyan will utilise the latest global clean coal technologies, such as the ultra-supercritical technology, and the latest environmental standards. Hassyan Clean Coal IPP will also be implemented under a BOO (build-own-operate) model," he added.

Acwa Power chairman Mohammed Abunayyan said: "With this agreement, we have taken a significant step towards starting the engineering and construction works as per the stated timeframe for the first plant of generating electricity with clean coal in the Gulf region within our strategic businesses and projects in the UAE."

"We are committed to supporting, with all our best-in-class expertise, capabilities and technologies, Dubai’s Clean Energy Strategy 2050," he added.

Qu Aimin said: "As a Chinese saying goes, distance tests a horse’s strength, time will reveal a person’s sincerity. With our state-of-art-service and highly efficient EPC teams, we will put in place all efforts, and make Hassyan plant a benchmarking project in Dubai and beyond."

Lusch said the Hassyan Clean Coal IPP is a flagship project that highlights the focus of the UAE government and Dewa to diversify the region’s energy mix in a clean and sustainable way.

"Along with our partners, GE is proud to celebrate this significant milestone in a project that will showcase our highly efficient ultra-supercritical coal technology to help meet Dubai’s growing demand for efficient and reliable power, at very competitive costs, while keeping an exceptionally low environmental footprint," he added.-TradeArabia News Service