Shanghai Electric, a Chinese multinational power generation company, said it has begun commercial operations of Block B in phase five at Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park (MBR Phase V) facility.
The equipment started producing electricity at the site on October 10 for commercial use 17 days earlier than expected, marking another milestone in the construction of the Shanghai Electric facility.
The project is divided into three blocks - A, B and C, each with a capacity of 300 MW. Block A was put into full operation in July 2021.
The design for Block C has been provisionally completed, meaning that preparations for its construction, including equipment deliveries, and the laying of underground cables, are in full swing.
"We are excited to announce the official opening of commercial operations of Block B of the MBR Phase V project 17 days ahead of schedule," remarked Qiu Minghua, the Vice General Manager of Shanghai Electric, at the ceremony.
"Our company expects to complete the subsequent handover, as well as getting underway the construction of Block C, in due course," stated Minghua.
Speaking on the occasion, Omar Al Hassan, the CEO of Shuaa Energy 3, the company in charge of implementation of the project, also expressed his appreciation and gratitude to all parties involved for their hard work and construction achievements.
Earlier in the project, its construction had been negatively affected by the pandemic, with issues such as the increase in the prices of raw materials, labour and transportation, cropping up. Added to that was the company's inability to ship photovoltaic (PV) modules to the site on schedule.
To deal with these obstacles, a crisis team composed of business professionals was assembled to resolve the issues with all parties involved.
After several rounds of discussions, Shanghai Electric and the relevant parties reached an agreement, paving the way for the project to get back on track and not only meet but also beat the agreed upon completion date, said Minghua.
In July 2022, the shipments of some batches of modules were again delayed. In response, a team was mobilized to speed up operations.
Because of the team's efforts around the clock, any time lost in the project was caught up over the course of a few weeks.
After 13-days of reliability and performance tests, the equipment in Block B was approved by the local power grid operator and officially put into commercial operation 17 days ahead of schedule, marking another important milestone achieved by the MBR Phase V project, remarked Al Hassan.
The commissioning and commencement of commercial operations of Block C is likely to begin soon, he added.
