It’s been a long time coming, but the Middle East’s largest concentrated solar power (CSP) plant has been officially inaugurated in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Back in 2010, Energy Matters reported on the breaking ground of Shams 1, a 100 megawatt solar generation plant covering 2.5 square-kilometres of desert west of Abu Dhabi.
The project was commissioned by the Shams Power Company, a joint venture made up of state-owned renewable energy company, Masdar, along with international oil and gas supplier Total Group and Abengoa Solar.
Located in the heart of the Abu Dhabi’s oil-producing region, the massive CSP facility has been much-touted by Masdar, which says the UAE has redefined its role on the world stage as the only OPEC nation now supplying both oil and renewable energy to the international market.
According to Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar, the company is now producing 68 percent of the Gulf’s renewable energy capacity and nearly 10 percent of the world’s installed CSP capacity.
“Abu Dhabi is investing and incubating a new energy industry, domestically and internationally,” Dr Jaber said. “Through Masdar, the UAE is redefining the role it plays in providing the world with energy. From precious hydrocarbons exports to sophisticated renewable energy systems, we are balancing the energy mix and diversifying our economy.”
Unlike some CSP plants that feature a central solar focus point – usually located at the top of a high tower surrounded by a field of mirrors – the Shams 1 facility consists of over 258,000 mirrors mounted on 768 parabolic troughs to concentrate sunlight onto oil-filled tubes; the heat from which is used to create steam to drive turbines and generate electricity.
The solar farm will provide power for 20,000 homes and avoid approximately 175,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, the equivalent of planting 1.5 million trees or removing 15,000 cars from the road.
In Arabic, the word “Shams” means “Sun”.
