The largest solar plant in the world

Timon Singh

Considering the sun always shines in the UAE, it is not surprising to hear that they have unveiled plans for the largest solar plant in the world.

With the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recently announcing their own large solar power project on the rooftop of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), it seems the UAE is not be outshone.

Whereas the KAUST solar project was a 2MW solar park that consisted of two rooftop solar installations with a capacity of one megawatt each, the UAE solar plant will be a massive 100MW complex located outside of Abu Dhabi.

Dubbed Shams 1, the project will see Abu Dhabi state-owned renewable energy firm Masdar team up with French oil company Total and Spanish solar company Abengoa Solar. The project, unlike Desertec which is much bigger, has already secured funding and should be up and running long before the much-discussed but much delayed Sahara project.

Shams 1

Named after the Arabic word for 'sun', Shams 1 will be constructed 120 kilometres southwest of Abu Dhabi and when finished will be capable of 100MW of solar power. It will cover one square mile of desert in Madinat Zayed.

As you'd expect for the largest solar plant in the world, the complex will boast 768 parabolic trough collectors as well as backup natural gas boiler to supply power when the sun is not out.... though that will not be very often in the UAE.

The parabolic trough collectors will be provided by Abengoa Solar. These troughs use mirrors to heat liquid, which in turn heats water to power a steam generator that produces electricity. In Shams 1's case, the mirrors will heat a type of oil.

Santiago Seage, CEO of the Spanish firm Abengoa Solar, says concentrated solar's main advantage is that it is less intermittent. "You have a solar field ... but you also have a boiler where you use natural gas to create the steam if the solar resource is not enough," he told AFP.

It is hoped that the solar power plant will offset 170,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, the equivalent of planting 1.5 million trees or removing 150,000 cars from Abu Dhabi roads. Abu Dhabi aims to obtain seven percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

In terms of ownership, the largest solar plant in the world will be split among the three firms with Masdar holding a 60 percent stake and Total and Abengoa Solar holding 20 percent each.

Abengoa Solar has built four other concentrated-solar plants in Spain (and is building one in the US) Shams 1 is the first such plant to be registered under the United Nations' Clean Development Mechanism, which makes it eligible for carbon credits.

Construction of the site will commence later in the year with the project expected to be finished within two years. If all goes to plan, Shams 1 will be operational by the end of 2012.

While it is not as big as the Desertec Project, the Sahara-based project has been suffering funding issues in recent months and the fact that the ambitious project is so vast means that potentially it may not be constructed for another 15 years.

Not just that, but if Shams 1 is a success, then it is very likely that the future will see Shams 2 and 3.

Relevant articles:

Desertec: Powering Europe from the Sahara | The Middle East: Renewable energy friendly? | The largest solar power project in Saudi Arabia