Masdar launches world’s largest concentrated solar power plant

Saudi Gazette
Abu Dhabi officially opened Sunday the world’s largest concentrated solar power (CSP) plant covering 2.5 square kilometers (285 football fields) in Madinat Zayed in the Western Region, which cost $600 million to build and will provide electricity to 20,000 homes. The 100-megawatt capacity Shams 1 is “the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant in operation” said Sultan Al-Jaber, the head of Abu Dhabi’s Masdar, which oversees the emirate’s plan to generate seven percent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020. (...) Masdar now produces 10 percent of the world’s concentrated solar power, Seage said during the official inauguration. The company’s energy portfolio represents 68 percent of renewable energy produced in the Gulf region, where clean energy remains at an infancy stage.

The solar park features long lines of parabolic mirrors spread over an area equivalent to 285 football pitches in the desert of the Western Region, some 120 kilometers (75 miles) southwest of Abu Dhabi. The 192 rows of loops collect heat that drives turbines to generate power that would save 175,000 tons of carbon dioxide every year, equivalent to taking 15,000 cars off the road. Automatic trucks are deployed to dust the mirrors in this desert location where sand poses a serious challenge to the efficiency of heat collectors. Masdar owns 60 percent of the project, while France’s Total and Spain’s Abengoa Solar own 20 percent each.