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Masdar has appointed Total and Abengoa Solar to own, build and operate Shams 1, the world’s largest concentrated solar power (CSP) plant, and the first of its kind in the Middle East.
One of Masdar’s flagship projects, Shams 1 will contribute directly towards Abu Dhabi’s target of achieving 7% renewable energy power generation capacity by the year 2020.
The JV between Masdar (60%), Total (20%) and Abengoa Solar (20%) will develop, build, operate and maintain the plant in Madinat Zayed, about 120 km south-west of Abu Dhabi.
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Shams 1 will be the largest CSP plant in the world, extending over an area of 2.5 square kilometres, with a capacity of about 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 about two years.
“The launch of Shams 1 marks a very important milestone for Masdar and for Abu Dhabi,” said Masdar CEO Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber.
Michael Geyer, Abengoa Solar’s director of international development, highlighted the immense potential of building large-scale solar plants in the Middle East, a region that offers both an unlimited solar resource and infinite site locations for implementation of solar plants in its deserts.
Shams 1 is registered as a project under the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and is eligible for carbon credits. It is be the first CSP plant registered under the CDM and the second project registered for Masdar. The plant will displace about 175,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year, equivalent to planting 1.5 million trees or removing 15,000 cars from Abu Dhabi’s roads.
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