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Abu Dhabi to build world’s largest solar power plant

Oilfield Technology,


Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s multi-faceted initiative advancing the development, commercialisation and deployment of renewable and alternative energy technologies and solutions, has appointed Total and Abengoa Solar as a partner to own, build and operate Shams 1, the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant and the first of its kind in the Middle East.

One of Masdar’s flagship projects, Shams 1 will directly contribute towards Abu Dhabi’s target of achieving 7% renewable energy power generation capacity by the year 2020.

The joint venture between Masdar (60%), Total (20%) and Abengoa Solar (20%) will develop, build, operate and maintain the plant which will be located in Madinat Zayed, approximately 120 km southwest of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Shams 1 will be the largest concentrated solar power plant in the world, extending over an area of 2.5 km², with a capacity of approximately 100 MW and a solar field consisting of 768 parabolic trough collectors to be supplied by Abengoa Solar. Construction is set to begin during Q3 2010 and is expected to take approximately two years.

Philippe Boisseau, President, Total Gas & Power said, “We are pleased to be partnered with Abu Dhabi, a country we have been working with for more than 70 years, in its pursuit of energy diversification and to contribute to the Masdar initiative, which promotes the development of renewable energies.”

Santiago Seage, CEO of Abengoa Solar, also expressed his satisfaction: “We have teamed with the most qualified partners in the region, Total and Masdar, to own and operate what will be the most advanced solar plant, featuring our cutting-edge technology”

Shams 1 is registered as a project under the United Nations’ Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and is eligible for carbon credits. It is to be the first CSP plant registered under the CDM and the second project registered for Masdar. The plant will displace approximately 175,000 t of CO2 per year, equivalent to planting 1.5 million trees or removing 15,000 cars from Abu Dhabi’s roads.

Shams 1 technology is unique, relying on generating solar thermal heat. Focused sunlight, concentrated by mirrors, heats a coolant which then generates high-pressure steam that drives a conventional steam turbine. It generates solar thermal electricity, an efficient, reliable and clean solution.

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/14062010/abu_dhabi_to_build_worlds_largest_solar_power_plant/

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