Solar Farm in the UAE
Solar power holds a lot of promise. Particularly when it comes to sun-drenched regions in the world, like Abu Dhabi. The world’s largest solar plant will soon be built in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), about 75 miles south of Abu Dhabi.
Like many other utility scale solar plants worldwide, the power plant will use concentrated solar power, also known as CSP. Giant parabolic mirrors reflect sunlight, which is used to super heat water to create steam and move turbines, which in turn generates clean electricity. The Desertec project will be a 100 megawatt (MW) power plant, potentially replacing the equivalent of 10 coal fired plants.
While there may be big plans for the project, that installation may still be years away from construction and operation. Still, the hope is that the plant will hep UAE meet its renewable energy goal of 7% by the year 2020.
Financing the largest power plant in the UAE will be a joint effort, including Abengoa Solar (a Spanish company), oil giant Total (based in France) and Masdar, the planned eco-city in the UAE. Approximately 768 parabolic trough solar collectors will be provided by Agengoa Solar. A natural gas boiler will be used to turn the turbines overnight.
** The claim that the UAE solar plant will be the world’s largest has been the subject of some debate. The SEGS solar power plant in California’s Mojave Desert, generates as much as 354 MW of solar electricity. However, the facility is comprised of nine solar power plants operating together.
Tags: abu dhabi, concentrated solar power, largest solar plant, solar farm, solar plant, solar power plant, UAE, utility scale solar
