UAE: Soaring with solar power

Silvia Radan & Haseeb Haider / 17 March 2013

ABU DHABI - Shams 1 is a major milestone in the country’s economic diversification and a step towards long-term energy security, said the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, after inaugurating the UAE’s first solar plant.
The President arrived at the site in Western Region’s Madinat Zayed accompanied by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Gen. Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

“Expanding our leadership into renewable sources of power demonstrates the commitment of the United Arab Emirates to maintaining its position as a major provider of energy,” said the President.

The President was proud of the young Emiratis who had worked on the project, saying that the expertise they gained, through working closely with international companies on building a project of such scale, would go a long way in establishing leadership in energy.
The Shams 1 plant he said, “is a strategic investment in our country’s economic, social and environmental prosperity... The domestic production of renewable energy extends the life of our country’s valuable hydrocarbon resources and supports the growth of a promising new industry”.

After a brief ceremony, Shaikh Khalifa gave the signal to the standby engineers, who symbolically turned on the solar panels ready to capture the heat of the sun and transform it into energy.
“Today the sun rises from the desert,” announced CEO of Masdar, Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Sultan Al Jaber, who is also Minister of State, as the curtains of the auditorium went up to allow a full view of the solar plant.

Shams 1, taking its name from the Arabic word “sun”, is owned by Masdar, UAE’s renewable energy company (60 per cent), by Spain’s Abengoa Solar (20 per cent) and France’s Total (20 per cent).
A $600 million project, it is the largest Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant in the world and the first of its kind in the Middle East. It produces 100MW of energy, which is added to the national energy grid. Size wise, the plant is equivalent of 285 football pitches. It generates power for 20,000 homes.

Being a clean source of energy, Shams 1 annually cuts 175,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (world’s biggest air pollutant and the major cause of climate change), which is equivalent of taking 30,000 cars off the road.
The plant’s latest technology also helps save 200 million gallons of water every year due to the use of an air-cooled condenser.“Shams 1 represents a large scale step in achieving UAE’s goal of having seven per cent of energy from renewable sources,” said Al Jaber.
“The Western Region is not only the cradle of Emirati history and heritage, but it is the richest part of UAE in hydrocarbons and now it has the country’s first plant of clean energy,” he added.
“It is also a very strategic project that diversify our economy from hydrocarbon to an economy based on knowledge.”
Furthermore, the plant helps diversify the economy in Western Region of Abu Dhabi emirate, as well as creating new jobs. In fact, Shams 1 plans to achieve 30 per cent Emiratisation this year and 40 per cent in two years time.
It already employed the services of 66 Emirati companies, half of which were established specifically to provide products and services required by a solar power plant.
Phillippe Boisseau, president of marketing and services and president of New Energies at Total, reminded that the French petroleum company signed the contract with Masdar three years ago.
“We need to develop an energy mix, not just for the UAE, but worldwide. Different energy sources don’t compete with each other, but help one another. Solar power will help extend the life of hydrocarbons,” he pointed out.
Spain’s Abengoa energy company has 15 solar plants worldwide, Shams 1 included, and six other under construction.
“We think Shams 1 is a key achievement in the region that will start a new era in renewable energy,” stressed Santiago Seage, CEO of Abengoa Solar.
Indeed, Qatar has already announced plans to build 1.36 gigawatts solar power, while Saudi Arabia has a 16 gigawatts solar power ambition.
In fact, Masdar has its sight on investing in Saudi Arabia’s renewable plans, although Al Jaber would not disclose any details at this time. Also in the pipeline for Masdar is Nour 1, another 100MW solar plant planned to be built in Al Ain, near the border with Oman.
In fact, to reach the seven per cent clean energy target by 2020, it would require a 100MW solar plant every year.
The ceremony was attended by Shaikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region, Shaikh Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in the Eastern Region, Shaikh Surour bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Shaikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor, Lt.-General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Advisor to the UAE President, Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Executive Council Member, Dr Shaikh Saeed bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, Shaikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Shaikh Sultan bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, Shaikh Hazza bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Undersecretary of the Diwan of the Ruler’s Representative in the Eastern Region, Ahmed Juma Al Zaabi, Deputy Minister of Presidential Affairs, Lt.-General Misbah Rashid Al Fattan, Director of the Office of the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, a number of other Shaikhs, ministers and senior officials, members of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, and heads of diplomatic missions accredited to the State and invited guests.

(With inputs from Wam)