Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) has awarded a contract to the local office of Austria’s ILF Consulting Engineers to provide consultancy services for a photovoltaic (PV) solar plant to power the planned Museum of the Future.

The PV solar plant, which is expected to be located in the Nad al-Sheba area will power the innovative museum, which is planned to be completed before Dubai holds the World Expo exhibition in 2020.

The solar installation is expected to have a capacity of 8-10MW.

Set to open in 2017, the museum will be used to showcase cutting-edge technologies, and with the motto ‘See the future, create the future”, it has been designed to play a leading role in developing a culture of innovation in Dubai and the rest of the UAE. It will be built close to Emirates Towers and Dubai International Financial Centre.

When launched earlier this year, it was said that part of the structure will be 3D-printed rather than conventionally built.

The consultants that have been engaged on the project include local firms Rice Perry Ellis and Killa Design as well as the UK’s Buro Happold.

MEE reported in May that five contractors had been invited to submit bids for the main construction package on the Museum of the Future.

Dubai is driving forward with a series of cultural projects. On 2 February, Dubai has announced plans to develop a $272m library in the Al-Jaddaf area, near the Dubai Creek.

The 92,903-square-metre scheme, which is set to be the biggest public library in the Middle East, will also include a 500-seat theatre. It is scheduled to be completed by 2017.