Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has announced that 58.4% work has been completed on its AED 1.42 billion ($387 million) pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant, and is on track for completion in Q4 next year.

A first of its kind facility in the Gulf region, the 250MW Hata Hydroelectric Power Plant will have a storage capacity of 1,500 megawatt-hours and a life span of up to 80 years, said Dewa in its statement.

The Hydroelectric power plant will be an energy storage facility with a turnaround efficiency of 78.9% that utilises the water stored in the upper dam, which is converted to kinetic energy during the flow of water through the 1.2-kilometre subterranean tunnel.

This kinetic energy rotates the turbines and converts mechanical energy to electrical energy which is sent to Dewa’s grid within 90 seconds in response to demand.

To store energy, clean energy generated at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park will be used to pump the water through this tunnel back to the upper dam by converting the electrical power to kinetic energy making the whole project 100% renewable, stated Dewa.

Giving a project update, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO said construction of the 72-m-long main Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) wall of the upper dam has been completed.

Al Tayer was accompanied by Nasser Lootah, Executive Vice President of Generation; Mansoor Al Suwaidi, Vice President – Projects and Engineering (Generation); and Khalifa Al Badwawi, Project Manager, along with the project team, during his inspection tour of the power plant site.

The concrete lining of the water tunnel, which is 1.2 km long and connects the two dams, stands fully completed, stated Al Tayer.

Al Tayer's visit also included the inspection of the power generators site and the upper dam, where the water intake in the Hatta Dam connected to the power generators has been completed.

He said the power plant was part of Dewa’s efforts to achieve the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100% of the emirate’s total power production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.

The project supports the comprehensive plan to develop Hatta and meet its social, economic, developmental and environmental needs, in addition to providing innovative job opportunities for citizens in Hatta, he added.