Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has announced that its pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant that it is implementing in Hatta is 94.15% complete, with generator installations currently under way in preparation for a trial operation in the first quarter of 2025.

As part of the preparations, the filling of the plant’s upper dam, which includes a 72-metre-high main wall and a 37-metre-high side dam, has also been completed.

The hydroelectric power plant is designed as an energy storage facility with a turnaround efficiency of 78.9%. It uses the potential energy of water stored in the upper dam, converting it into kinetic energy as the water flows through a 1.2-kilometre subterranean tunnel.

This kinetic energy rotates the turbines, converting mechanical energy into electrical energy, which can be delivered to DEWA’s grid within 90 seconds to meet demand.

To store energy, clean power generated at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park will be used to pump water back to the upper dam, converting electrical power into kinetic energy during the process.

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. It is the first project of its kind in the Arabian Gulf region, with an investment of AED 1.421 billion. The project is expected to be fully completed by the end of the second quarter of 2025.

This project is part of a comprehensive vision to develop Hatta and enhance its sustainable development, including the creation of innovative job opportunities for Emiratis. It also supports the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050.

Through the project, DEWA aims to diversify energy production from renewable and clean sources in Dubai. These include different available technologies such as solar photovoltaic panels and concentrated solar power, as well as the use of renewable energy to produce green hydrogen.