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Masdar City’s Solar Power Plant Is Net Exporter Of Energy To UAE
Published Jun 9, 2011
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The largest photovoltaic (PV) plant in the MENA region located in Masdar City has hit all performance targets in the first two years of its operations, demonstrating that utility scale PV plants in the region are viable, Masdar said.
The 10MW PV plant, which is one of five projects in the UAE registered for carbon credits under the United Nation’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), entered its third year of operations this month. Since operations began, the plant has saved 24,000 tons in CO2 emissions, which is the equivalent of taking 3,300 cars off Abu Dhabi’s roads.
The 10MW solar plant, consisting of 87,777 panels of thin film and crystalline silicon technologies, and connected to the Abu Dhabi National Grid, has so far generated approximately 36,000MWh of clean energy. The plant is a net exporter of energy to the grid after it meets the entire energy needs of the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (M.I.S.T.) in Masdar City.
“The success of the 10MW PV plant is a good example of how Masdar integrates research, development and innovation with investment, sustainable production, and deployment,” said Frank Wouters, Director, Masdar Power, one of the five integrated units of Masdar. “The utility scale PV plant has also enabled our engineers to gain insights into ways different PV technologies respond to the region’s climactic conditions. The expertise and knowledge gained will serve as a valuable reference point for other utility scale PV projects in the region,“ he added.
The connection of the 10MW solar power plant to Abu Dhabi’s electrical grid was a joint effort by Masdar, Abu Dhabi Distribution Company (ADDC) and the Emirate’s regulatory body, the Regulation and Supervision Bureau. ADDC, Abu Dhabi’s main grid holder is responsible for operating and developing the distribution networks.
Masdar Power is currently constructing the 100MW Shams One, one of the largest concentrated solar power plants of its kind in the world and the largest in the Middle East. Located at Madinat Zayed, 120km southwest of Abu Dhabi city, the project, is on schedule for completion towards the end of 2012.
Masdar Power’s other projects include the 1GW London Array, the largest offshore wind farm in the world, an onshore wind farm project of up to 30 MW on Sir Bani Yas Island, 250km southwest of Abu Dhabi city, the Mahe onshore wind farm in Seychelles, and Masdar PV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Masdar that produces at its plant in Germany amorphous silicon thin film photovoltaic modules eight times larger and more powerful than the industry standard.
About Masdar:
Masdar is Abu Dhabi’s multi-faceted initiative advancing the development, commercialisation and deployment of renewable and alternative energy technologies and solutions. The company serves as a link between today’s fossil fuel economy and the energy economy of the future developing the “greenprint” for how we will live and work tomorrow. Backed by the stability and reputation of the Mubadala Development Company, an investment vehicle of the government of Abu Dhabi, Masdar is dedicated to the emirate’s long term vision for the future of energy.
About Masdar Power:
Masdar Power is one of the five integrated units of Abu Dhabi’s clean energy initiative Masdar. Mandated to build and operate a portfolio of large scale renewable energy power projects that will enable Abu Dhabi achieve 7% of its total generation capacity from clean energy sources by 2020, it is implementing major projects such as the Shams 1 and Nour 1 solar power plants and Sir Bani Yas wind farm in the UAE, as well as international projects including the London Array, Torresol Energy’s Gemasolar, Valle 1& 2 solar power plants in Spain and a wind farm in Seychelles.
Through its partnerships and investments in technology relevant to utility scale renewable energy operating assets, Masdar Power aims to spearhead breakthroughs in the field of solar PV, concentrated solar power, onshore and offshore wind.
About Clean Development Mechanism:
The CDM is a project based mechanism created under the Kyoto Protocol that provides financial incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries by converting emission reductions into tradable assets or ‘carbon credits’ known as Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs).
Projects that wish to generate CERs must be registered with and approved by the United Nations CDM Executive Board, which supervises the implementation of CDM under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
Projects also have to concurrently meet the sustainable development requirements of the ‘Designated National Authority’ (DNA) the host country organisation responsible for local approvals of the project. In the UAE, the approval is provided by the The Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD).
UAE projects registered by Masdar Carbon:
- Low pressure steam generation by recovering waste heat using Heat Re-claimers at Emirates CMS Power.
- Implementing energy efficient measures to reduce fuel gas consumption at GASCO.
- ADFEC 10 MW Solar Power Plant.
- Abu Dhabi solar thermal power project, Masdar.
For more information:
Meray Atef
E: press@masdar.ae
T: +971 2 653 6014
Posted by
VMD - [Virtual Marketing Department]
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