Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has confirmed that the ACWA Power and Harbin Electric consortium has begun construction of the 2,400MW Hassyan clean coal power station, based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) procurement model.

The plant will be the first of its kind in the region, and it will be fully compliant with set international standards, a statement from DEWA said, adding that it would adopt the use of ultra-supercritical technology.

In June of this year, DEWA and the consortium had signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), in addition to a shareholders’ agreement (SHA) to implement the 2,400MW plant, based on the IPP model.

The project will be supported by a 25-year PPA with DEWA, the statement added. The bidder will be required to put in place a secure delivery of coal to the project, over the course of the PPA. The power station is expected to be fully operational by 2023.

“DEWA selected the ACWA Power and Harbin Electric consortium as the Preferred Bidder for the 2,400 MW Hassyan Clean Coal Power Project. The consortium bid a Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) of USD 4.241 cents per kilowatt (kW), based on May 2015 coal prices,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of DEWA.

The authority has instructed the consortium to ensure that the project meets flue gas emission limits more stringently than emission limits in the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) of the European Union, and in the International Finance Corporation (IFC) guidelines.

All necessary environmental studies have been carried out, DEWA added.