In a win for solar adoption in the United Arab Emirates the world’s largest solar power plant has been announced in Abu Dhabi.
The plant which is to be completed by the second half of 2019 is a joint international collaborative effort by the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority as well as companies in Japan and China.
The plant is said to be able to power hundreds of thousands of homes, producing an estimated 1,177 megawatts of electricity according to an article on Reuters.
The entire project which costs a reported $870 million US (AUD $1.15 billion) will be built in the town of Sweihan with the official signing of the agreement being held in the capital on Wednesday.
A large plant, a big accomplishment
“This is an important occasion for Abu Dhabi’s development, and is represented by the launching of the world’s largest independent solar power plant,” said Abdullah Musleh Al Ahbabi, Chairman of ADWEA.
“The tenders for the project was opened in April of last year … We received more than 90 proposals from the world’s largest companies in solar energy, which indicated the investors’ trust in the authority,” he added.
Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) raised $650 million in debt with the remaining $222 million raised in equity, Director-General Saif Saleh Al Sayari told reporters. It is ADWEA’S first time being involved with a renewable energy project.
Hitting solar goals
With Abu Dhabi aiming for 7% of its energy to be via renewable means by 2020 announcements such as this drive towards achieving that goal. The plant will begin construction immediately.
“Building this solar power plant is very important for renewable energy, the use of solar energy will gradually increase over time, and it will definitely play an important role in the world. This solar power plant will be groundbreaking.” said Abdullah Musleh Al Ahbabi.
“We will work very hard [to complete this project], and I would like to come back here to celebrate again for the successful completion of the project in 2019,” he added.
This however is not the governments first involvement in green energy with a government agency Masdar having worked with renewable technology’s such as solar panels.
