Noor Energy 1, the joint venture between ACWA Power and the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA), has named Advisian as owner’s engineer for the next phase of the 700MW Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum concentrating solar power (CSP) development in the United Arab Emirites.

In the role, Advisian, part of the international consulting firm WorleyParsons, will shepherd all contractors on the project, known as DEWA-IV, as well as reviewing basic and detailed engineering, managing technology risk and providing technical support as required for the factory acceptance tests during the construction and commissioning of the CSP plant, the world’s largest to-date

Advisian has put together a specialised CSP technology team for the project based at its Renewable Energy Centre of Excellence in Madrid, Spain, with support from WorleyParsons engineers in its Shanghai, China, and Dubai offices.

“With our staff having been involved in half of all CSP projects globally, we are excited to work on this project that, combined with solar PV, will provide solar electricity around the clock at a cost that is competitive with conventional power in Dubai,” said WorleyParsons chief executive Andrew Wood.

WorleyParsons group managing director Tony Frencham added: “This partnership between Noor Energy 1 and Advisian further demonstrates our shared organisational commitment to paving the way forward for the renewable energy sector,” pointing to the company’s recent work in solar, floating offshore wind, microgrids and green hydrogen.

The Mohammed bin Rashid solar CSP mega-development will ultimately consist of a 100MW power-tower and three 200MW parabolic trough plants. The project, which has a 35-year power purchase agreement with the city of Dubai, is using Shanghai Electric as EPC contractor, while NOMAC is the O&M operator.