Gulf Construction Online - Masdar PV plant meets all targets

Power Generation

A view of the 10-MW solar array ... clean energy.

Masdar PV plant meets all targets

In its third year of operation, Madar’s 10-MV PV plant has so far generated 36,000 MWh of clean energy besides saving 24,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, equivalent to that produced by 3,300 cars.

01 September 2011

THE largest photovoltaic (PV) plant in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) located in Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, UAE, has hit all performance targets in the first two years of its operations, demonstrating that utility-scale PV plants in the region are viable.

The 10-MW solar plant, which is one of five projects in the UAE registered for carbon credits under the United Nations’ clean development mechanism (CDM), entered its third year of operations this month. Since operations began, the plant has saved 24,000 tonnes in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which is the equivalent of taking 3,300 cars off Abu Dhabi’s roads.

The 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 36,000 MWh 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 (MIST) in Masdar City.

“The success of the plant is a good example of how Masdar integrates research, development and innovation with investment, sustainable production, and deployment,” says Frank Wouters, director, Masdar Power, one of the five integrated units of Masdar.

“The utility-scale 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 adds.

The connection of the 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 has been mandated to build and operate a portfolio of large scale renewable energy power projects that will enable Abu Dhabi achieve seven per cent of its total generation capacity from clean energy sources by 2020. It is currently constructing the 100-MW 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, 120 km southwest of Abu Dhabi city, the project, is on schedule for completion towards the end of 2012.

Masdar Power’s other projects include the 1-GW 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, 250 km 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.

Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) 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 the future. 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,” says a spokesman for the company.

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 UN CDM executive board, which supervises the implementation of CDM under the 1997 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 Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD).

In the UAE, the projects registered by Masdar Carbon include low-pressure steam generation by recovering waste heat using heat reclaimers at Emirates CMS Power, implementation of energy-efficient measures to reduce fuel gas consumption at Gasco (Abu Dhabi Gas Industries), the 10-MW plant, and the 100-MW Shams One power project.