UAE's $400m solar power plant

UAE solar investment is up

The UAE is slowly but surely embracing renewable energy and the news that MBM Holdings has announced plans to build a $400m solar-grade polysilicon plant has confirmed the region's commitment to diversifying its energy supplies.

The plant will be built by MBM Solar Holding Inc and will have a total capacity of 2500 tons per annum of high quality solar-grade polysilicon product with production set to start in early 2012.

According to a statement frm MBM Solar Holding Inc., the project will be developed jointly with ERC Private Limited Singapore and will be the first upstream plant of its kind to be constructed in the UAE.

While a site has not yet been picked for the plant's location, the project will be constructed in a total area of approximately 250,000 square metres. As such, plan negotiations are underway with local authorities for a possible site.

According to MBM, the plan is to "take UAE to the forefront of the solar energy industry in the MENA and subcontinent".

Sheikh Mohammed bin Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum, chairman of MBM, said MBM Solar Holding Inc would form "the anchor for supporting other private sector developers in the solar downstream sector".

Using state-of-the-art equipment, it is hoped that the plant will have production capacity beyond 2500MT/a.

UAE solar ambition

The UAE is already planning the the largest solar plant in the world. 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.

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.

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.

Relevant articles:

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

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