China’s Shanghai Electric Group Co (SHA:601727) has announced it has achieved several key milestones in construction of the 700-MW Noor Energy I tower and trough concentrated solar power (CSP) project in Dubai.
The Chinese company is the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for Noor Energy I, which will also feature a 250-MW solar PV portion alongside a 100-MW CSP tower and three 200-MW parabolic trough plants.
The first molten salt tank hydro test for the Parabolic Trough Plant-II (PT2) was carried out on May 9, followed by a finalised molten salt pipeline installation inside the CSP tower, Shanghai Electric said.
The PT2 will have eight tanks to store nitrate, the heat storage medium for the plant. Each tank measures 45 metres (147.6 ft) in diameter and 25,000 cubic metres (882,867 cubic ft) in capacity.
On-site teams worked under harsh desert conditions, which itself was a challenge to the test. They were also under-staffed due to labour shortages during Ramadan. Nevertheless, the test was completed on time with the help of water trucks that transported and unloaded the water to provisional water tanks through which the water was pumped into the molten salt tanks, Shanghai Electric said.
“[The] outstanding performance [of on-site workers] also guaranteed the smooth progress of the CSP central tower pipeline installation, which is the core and one of the most important parts of the structure. The space in the tower is extremely small, given the total length of the central tower internal pipes is over 500 meters”, said Zhao Hui, Project Manager of Dubai CSP Project of Shanghai Electric Power Generation Engineering Co.
The 950-MW Noor Energy I project, named after the consortium promoting it, is the fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. Noor Energy I investors include ACWA Power, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and China’s Silk Road Fund.
Shanghai Electric was also selected to provide EPC services for the 900-MW fifth phase of the massive Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar development in Dubai.
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