As of recently, there has been much encouragement from industry sources for the use of solar power on rooftops. Mounting photovoltaic panels on rooftops of residential and office buildings or industrial facilities can be beneficial for they can provide electricity and create a surplus that can be fed into the grid.

“In the next 12 months, we will see a constant increase of solar infrastructure. Not only standalone facilities, but to actually power our villas, our parks, our residential communities,” said Ivano Iannelli to The National. He is the chief executive of the government-owned advisory company Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence.

However, the legislation may reach some hurdles. Other countries that receive solar energy from small-scale sources, suppliers receive a feed-in tariff from the government. This is a tactic that is under consideration in Dubai. Feed-in tariffs are usually above the market rate, making installation for the solar technology profitable.

“Feed-in tariffs are part of the different activities that are being looked upon,” he noted.

Despite the tariffs being under consideration, industry players are still interested in the appeal for Dubai’s move towards solar energy. SolarWorld, one of Germany’s biggest solar panel producers, opened a showroom in Dubai Creek where its product will be sold by local distributor PTL Solar.

Reliant on fossil fuels, solar energy is a possible alternative energy source for Dubai to take advantage of. The Emirate is already seeking to generate five percent of its electricity from the sun by 2030 and last year, the Dubai Supreme Council for Energy announced its plans for the Mohammad bin Rashad Al Maktoum Solar Park; the contract was awarded for the first plans to take place in October.

Solar energy will also divert attention away from Dubai’s power plants’ reliance on natural gases, which are imported.

The expense is especially high during the summer months when air conditioning is frequently used and the emirate must turn to costly liquefied natural gas.

This expense is then passed on to consumers with a fuel surcharge. Fortunately, solar panels are becoming cheaper as the technology advances and fierce competition controls the prices.

Thanks to the emergence of solar energy, Dubai can also reach its goal of reducing the carbon footprint of its power generation – like Abu Dhabi, which launched the Shams1 Concentrated Solar Plant (CSP) in March 2013.

Shams, impressively, at 100 megawatts, is the largest solar installation in the Middle East. Green Prophet visited Shams earlier this year and you can see pictures here. This installation will contribute to the Emirate’s plan to derive seven percent of its electricity from renewable resources by 2020.

We are rooting for them.

The post Dubai Readies Law to Let Home Owners Feed Energy to the Grid appeared first on Green Prophet.

The process called “waste to energy,” is employed in progressive countries throughout the globe – most notably in Copenhagen, arguably Denmark’s greenest city. This new initiative will not only free up landfill space, but it will also save costs and energy associated with transporting the waste. 

While solar energy has captured the UAE spotlight recently with the official opening of the Shams 1 Concentrated Solar Plant (CSP) outside of Abu Dhabi, the emirate is gradually pursuing a mixed bag of generation options that will free up its oil resources for export income.

Capturing heat energy from burning trash is just one of several options the emirate is pursuing, in addition to biofuels, wind generation and different kinds of solar.

With a capacity of one to two megawatts, the Delma Island project will be able to provide power for 200 homes. But it is also going to be used as a pilot project, from which lessons learned will be applied to an even bigger waste-to-energy plant that will be built on the mainland.

That plant is expected to power 20,000 homes, and provide considerable relief to the outlying landfills, The National reports.

The Center of Waste Management (CWM) is working with energy company Taqa to trial this technology for the first time, with special emphasis placed on ensuring that pollutants released as a byproduct of burning synthetic materials do not enter the atmosphere.

“We consider this demonstration plant a practical first step to capture lessons learnt during construction and operation phases, and benefit our announced large-scale project to convert a million tonnes of municipal solid waste per year into 100MW of alternative power,” said Dr Saif Al Sayari, head of Taqa’s energy solutions division.

Yet another forward-thinking project coming out of Abu Dhabi, which is far and away the Arab World’s leader in clean tech solutions.

:: The National

Image of burning trash, Shutterstock

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With 258,000 mirrors on 768 tracking parabolic trough collectors harnessing the sun’s energy to power a steam turbine, the plant developed by Shams Power Company occupies an area of 2.5 square kilometers or 285 football fields. Now that it is live, it is expected to generate sufficient energy to power 20,000 homes and divert 170,000 tons of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere each year.

It cost $600 million USD and took three years to build Shams 1 about 120km outside of Abu Dhabi. It features the most current parabolic trough technology, which made the most sense at the time that the project was conceived, and includes a natural gas-powered booster that maximizes the steam generation’s efficiency.

Masdar owns 60 percent of the plant, while Total and Abengoa each have a 20 percent stake in what Masdar claims is the largest plant of its kind.

“The inauguration of Shams 1 is a major breakthrough for renewable energy in the Middle East,” said Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar.

“Just like the rest of the word, the region is faced with meeting its rising demand for energy, while also working to reduce its carbon footprint. Shams 1 is a significant milestone, as large-scale renewable energy is proving it can deliver electricity that is sustainable, affordable and secure.”

Probably more than any other Gulf nation, the United Arab Emirates has employed an aggressive strategy to scale up its renewable energy portfolio.

Not only are several solar power plants in the works, but in January the government-backed Masdar initiative announced plans to develop desalination plants that are powered by clean energy to further reduce fossil fuel consumption.

“Abu Dhabi is investing and incubating a new energy industry, domestically and internationally,” said Dr. Al Jaber.

“Through Masdar, the UAE is redefining the role it plays in providing the world with energy. From precious hydrocarbon exports to sophisticated renewable energy systems, we are balancing the energy mix and diversifying our economy – moving toward a more sustainable future. Today, the UAE is the only OPEC nation delivering both hydrocarbons and renewable energy to the international market.”

Now that Shams 1 is online, renewable energy produced by Masdar accounts for 68 percent of the Gulf’s capacity and 10 percent of the world’s CSP capacity. This is in part due to projects that Masdar has partnered with abroad, including the Gemasolar CSP plant in Spain.

“The Middle East holds nearly half of the world’s renewable energy potential,” said Santiago Seage, CEO of Abengoa Solar. “The abundance of solar energy is an opportunity to integrate sustainable, clean sources of power that address energy security and climate change. The region needs more projects like Shams 1, and we look forward to pushing the boundaries of future energy.”

The post Shams 1: World’s Largest Concentrated Solar Plant Goes Live appeared first on Green Prophet.

Abu Dhabi wants to ensure that by 2020, seven percent of the nation’s energy mix will be comprised of renewables, and Shams 1 – the world’s largest single unit concentrating solar power (CSP) plant – is about to put the emirate one step closer to this goal. A 100 MW CSP plant located 120 km southwest of the capital, Shams 1 uses parabolic trough technology to convert the sun’s energy into electricity.

The mirror troughs track the sun as it makes its way across the sky, focusing sunlight onto tubes of synthetic oil that is piped through the entire system. Heat energy from this oil is eventually transferred to water, which boils and releases steam that in turn powers a conventional steam turbine. Shams 1 also has a natural gas-fired booster that literally boosts temperatures by 140 degrees Celsius, increasing its efficiency by roughly 20 percent.

After receiving funding under the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), the plant owned by Masdar, Abengoa and Total was launched at a time when photovoltaic technology was prohibitively expensive.

Without conceding that Masdar might have chosen a different kind of technology for the $600 million plant, Masdar’s Clean Energy Director Bader Saeed Al Lamki told us that photovoltaic technology is considerably cheaper now than it was a few years ago.

Shams Power Company Process Engineer Abdulaziz Al Obaidli, Masdar Clean Energy Director Bader Saeed Al Lamki, and Shams Power Company General Manager Yousif Al Ali  

“There is a tradeoff,” he said in a recent interview. “While photovoltaics might be cheaper, CSP technology has storage capability that allows the plant to run around the clock.”

Al Lamki pointed to Spain’s Gemasolar plant, which is partially owned by Masdar and was the first solar plant in the world to hit the 24/7 milestone, to illustrate the benefits of CSP.

Expected to divert 175,000 tons of CO₂ emissions per year, Shams 1 will produce sufficient energy to power 20,000 homes. Comprised of 258,048 parabolic trough mirrors and attendant infrastructure, the plant covers an area of one square mile.

The site was chosen for a variety of reasons, not least of which is the existing electrical transmission infrastructure that facilitated easy grid integration. Natural gas facilities in the region also help to buttress the solar energy in case of intermittent supply such that Shams 1 will always be able to run at 100 MW capacity.

Developing the emirate’s western region additionally takes pressure off the burgeoning capital. Shams 1 should start pumping energy into the national grid within the first few months of this year.

Masdar’s Clean Energy director is also passionate about Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage technology (CCUS), which is seen by many scientists as one of the most important and least understood tools required to mitigate climate change.

There are several ways to capture carbon, Al Lamki explained – pre and post combustion. But the technology is not yet viable since it is still very expensive. Current CCUS technology raises the price of fuel by up to 97 percent.

“Masdar is currently working with the U.S. Department of Energy on a carbon capture project,” said Al Lamki. Meanwhile, a pilot CCUS project is currently underway in the United Arab Emirates.

Masdar Clean Energy has completed the front end engineering and design of the Abu Dhabi CCUS Network and the first element of this Network, the ESI Carbon Capture Facility, will commence operations by 2015, according to a recent Masdar press release.

All images by Tafline Laylin; please contact Green Prophet if you would like to have permission to use them.

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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) economic capital, Dubai, has reaffirmed its committment to sustainable energy and the environment as it pushes forward on massive growth projects. Dubai’s ruler and UAE’s Vice-President and Prime Minister Mohamed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said that as the city continues to develop, the environment and clean energy prospects remain at the top of the city’s agenda. In the preface to “The Business Year: Dubai 2012” al-Maktoum again confirmed his desire to see economic growth be in line with sustainable environmental practices and the promotion of clean energy.

He pointed to neighbor Abu Dhabi, UAE’s capital, as a prime example of how this can be achieved (see our recent post on the Shams 1 solar power plant). He noted that the solar energy projects underway across the UAE can be a sign that Dubai and the Gulf country can change the status quo in order to better the environment, energy consumption and maintain solid economic progress.

“Tomorrow may bear for us developments that cannot be predicted, but reflecting on the broad outlines of reality we can identify and detect the opportunities and challenges to come. Hence, there is a heavy responsibility we should not relent to bear,” he said.

While much of his discussion centered on trade and the “knowledge-driven economy” as vital to sustainable development, the city’s recent action on green economic initiatives were not missed.

“Our Green Economy Initiative announced his year invokes our commitment to diversify energy sources and preserve the environment, while bolstering our competitive status to become a leading centre for the export and re-export of green products and technologies,” he said.

Dubai, as a leader in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) believes that alternative and clean energy resources can be a main focal point for development and economic progress.

One Saudi consultant for Riyadh’s solar energy consortium told Green Prophet, on condition of anonymity, “there’s simply a lot of money to be made in the green economy and leaders are really beginning to see this.”

Over all, the GCC is looking to continue that effort by spending some $252 billion over the next five years to increase energy production.

Among the projects on tap are new power production plants, distribution systems and supply grids

Maktoum himself has been a major proponent of clean energy, pushing a pilot project aimed at making public transportation in the country more eco-friendly. Announced in July this year, it hopes to develop bio-diesel for buses in the country as well as a national railway plan, a car pooling project, pedestrian bridges and a bicycle race course.

The buses will not only run on a bio-diesel engine, they will be equipped with solar-powered LED lighting system and will also run on recycled tires.

Not bad for a city that is known as the Las Vegas of the Middle East and eats up massive amounts of energy. Going green, analysts and the city’s leaders agree, is a must for the city to continue to survive at its current consumption levels.

“Dubai continues to seize the economic, cultural and scientific  opportunities cherished by the future, indicating that it forges new connections to sustain growth across this decade and the ones that follow,” added al-Maktoum.

The post Dubai Confirms Commitment to Sustainable Environment, Energy appeared first on Green Prophet.

Shams 1 will displace 175,000 tons of CO₂ per year and its power output will be enough to power 20,000 homes.

Abu Dhabi’s push into clean energy is to get a massive boost by the end of the year with the Shams 1 Concentrated Solar Power plant going live in the emirate and will begin supplying solar power to residents in the city. Commissioned by MASDAR, Spain’s Abengoa Solar and France’s Total S.A. the $500 million USD plant will have a capacity of 100 megawatts of electricity, which the company said in announcing the plant’s functionality this past week, should be enough power to run 20,000 homes. Using solar parabolic trough technology is the largest such plant in the world and first of its kind solar power plant in the Middle East North Africa region.

“At the end of October all these generators that are now powering the plant will be gone and we will connect to the grid and will be live,” said Shams Power Company General Manager Yousif Al Ali in a statement on the new plant.

“Setting up a solar field of this magnitude took plenty of time and seat, especially out here, in the desert of Madinat Zayed, in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi emirate,” he added.

Abu Dhabi is not the only Emirate looking to enhance its clean energy sector. In Dubai, the city hopes to have some five percent of its energy needs met by “green energy” by 2030.

According to the Vice-Chairman of the Supreme Council of Energy Mohamed al-Tayer, solar power is to be the top priority in the coming years.

“Soon we’ll have a very big project in Dubai in respect to solar,” he said.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIGH71TdUew[/youtube]

Tayer did not deliver specific details on the projects or say how much projected costs to make it a reality would be.

Almost all of Dubai’s current power supply comes from burning natural gas. Dubai’s energy demands spiked during the past decade due to megaprojects and a boom in high-rise buildings that have sprouted up across the city.

Officials last year said that they were considering new types of power in a bid to diversify Dubai’s energy sources.

Among the alternatives being considered are “clean coal” technologies, which aim to reduce coal’s harmful carbon emissions.

The latest plans call for coal and nuclear power to each supply Dubai with about 12 percent of its power needs by 2030, with 5 percent coming from renewable sources and the rest from natural gas, al-Tayer said.

Top image via Shams Youtube Video

The post Abu Dhabi’s Shams 100 MW CSP Solar Power Plant To Switch On … Soon appeared first on Green Prophet.

ACWA rumored to win the contract to build a 160 MW CSP project in in the south of Morocco.

“We are going to opt for the offer made by the consortium of ACWA,” a source close to Morocco’s solar energy agency MASEN told Reuters. The source asked not to be named pending an official announcement due later this week.

ACWA Power International also investing in wind energy in the Middle East is the Saudi-based developer, owner and operator of utility-scale water and power projects. Traditionally, the power had been produced by fossil fuels, for example for the oil-powered water desalination that Saudi Arabia is dependent on.

But in a turnaround on fossil energy for the Saudi company, ACWA has become a world leader in bids for CSP projects. Since CSP is a form of solar power that uses the same “back end” – a thermal power plant –  as a coal or gas or oil plant does to make electricity from turbines driven by steam, the expertise a fossil energy company brings is adaptable to this form of renewable energy.  The solar field itself that removes the need to burn fossil energy to make heat, accounts for about half the scope of the project, and can be developed by solar partners.

For this $500 million project ACWA has teamed up with the Spanish engineering firm Aries Ingenieria Y Sistemas and TSK Electronica y Electricidad for the design, finance, construction, operation and maintenance.

The news follows the success last month of the ACWA bid to build the Bokpoort CSP project 600 km west of Johannesburg, South Africa in its selection as a preferred bidder.

Related: Saudi Arabian Solar Chosen by South Africa

ACWA says that it plans to make solar development part of its portfolio, to reach 5 percent, over the next two years. Saudi Arabia itself now plans an extraordinary amount of solar power, with $109 billion slated for the development of enough solar power to power a third of its domestic consumption of electricity, which is growing so fast that it threatens to take down its ability to export oil. The Kingdom says it wants to grow this solar economy domestically, and has taken steps to begin that, with the first ever poly-silicon refining.

More energy news:
Tour One of the Largest Solar Thermal Projects on Earth
Masdar Awards $600 Million Contract for ‘World’s Largest’ Thermal Plant
Low Carbon Economics Aligns With the Sharia Law of Islam

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This year’s MENASOL on the 16th and 17th of May in Abu Dhabi, offers something even more special!

MENASOL is the annual meet-up of solar opinion leaders, experts and financing personnel that has grown by leaps and bounds each year with the burgeoning growth of  MENA region (Middle East & North Africa) solar and Desertec. The speakers list for MENASOL 2012 is a virtual who’s who of the critical mass of movers and shakers in clean solar energy for the 21st century.

Unlike the typical large unstructured expo, this unusual annual get together offers the solar industry the chance to meet and do business with potential connections directly, under one roof over 2 days in a solar market now developing rapidly in the MENA region.

On May 16th and 17th, Masdar, CSP Today and PV Insider are offering delegates the unique opportunity to visit both the Masdar City’s 10MW PV Plant, and Masdar’s first 100 MW solar project: Shams 1, which is ten times larger.

This is an opportunity to tour a solar project which is not just the largest parabolic trough power station in the MENA region – but among the largest  in the world.

It uses concentrated solar-thermal power technology, that drives a steam turbine with a solar-heated liquid.

The $600 million Shams 1 project is being built by Spain’s Abengoa Solar in the western region of Abu Dhabi. It is expected to be complete by August, and visits will be in mid May, through MENASOL2012 (16th and 17th May). It is jointly owned by Masdar (60 per cent), Total of France and Abengoa Solar.

For solar fans, this will be a thrilling chance to see this planet’s dazzling clean energy future up close. This stunning project’s 258,048 parabolic trough mirrors, 192 solar collector assembly loops, 768 solar collector assembly units, and 27,648 absorber pipes are what 21st century clean energy production will look like – if we’re lucky!

Powered by the blinding desert sun, Shams 1 will displace approximately 175,000 metric tonnes of CO2 each year, which is equivalent to planting 1.5 million trees or removing 15,000 cars from Abu Dhabi roads.

Masdar’s other, smaller solar project, the 10 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power station at the edge of Masdar City, will also be on the tour agenda. Even this is the largest solar PV project built to date in the Middle East, and is expected to produce 17,500MWh of clean electricity annually.

Interestingly, it is solar PV, like Masdar’s second huge 100 MW project is to be, so it will be interesting to learn why Masdar is going with PV for its Nour 1 solar project.

Both site visits are being arranged in conjunction with MENASOL 2012, so seize the opportunity to visit these two landmark plants in Abu Dhabi.  To find out more info, visit the website: www.csptoday.com/menasol  or contact event organizer Max Crompton (max@csptoday.com)

Related:

Masdar’s first 100 MW solar project: Shams 1
Masdar Calls for Bids For A Second 100 MW Solar Project
China’s Suntech is Among Masdar’s Solar Bids for Nour 1

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Frank Wouters of Masdar Power at Abu Dhabi’s World Future Energy Summit.

With its first large scale solar farm expected to be operational by August, Masdar is now about to construct its second utility-scale solar project in the UAE, the 100 MW Nour 1. The first, Shams 1, used concentrated solar-thermal power (CSP) technology, that drives a steam turbine with a solar-heated liquid. The second, Nour 1, is to use solar PV panels, that convert sunlight into electricity directly with photo-voltaics (PV).

But the companies that have bid to help build its second large-scale solar power plant must source half of their panels from Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s own clean-energy company.China’s Suntech, the leading solar PV manufacturer globally, is among the half a dozen bidders for Nour 1. Fourteen companies had been pre-qualified in July.

Spain’s Abengoa Solar is now completing the 100 MW solar CSP Shams 1, “on budget and on schedule” using Abengoa’s solar themal CSP technology, at a cost of $700 million (Dh2.57 billion).

However, the companies bidding to build the next project must source about half the panels with Masdar itself. Masdar does own a solar manufacturing firm in Germany, as well as being a half partner in Torresol, which has just built the world’s first baseload solar project in Spain: Gemasolar.

“The economics of Nour 1 look fantastic,” said Suntech CCO Andrew Beebe. “That bid was put together very professionally and with great management of it and the timing happened to be such that it was probably the most fiercely competitive bid that we’ve seen in a long time.”

Certainly, Abu Dhabi is going with the world’s best firms for constructing these plants. Both Suntech (in PV) and Abengoa (in CSP) are the leaders in their respective sectors of solar energies. Suntech also supplied half the panels for a much smaller 10 MW installation in Masdar City.

But it appears that by insisting on sourcing half of the panels from their own PV factory, Masdar is using this project as a way of checking its own PV solar quality against the best in the world. Or perhaps they simply need to use up unsold inventory. Solar panel manufacturing is a fiercely competitive industry, with rapid price drops putting many companies out of business.

The emirate passed a target to get 7% of its power from renewable energy by 2020, which would require building one 100 MW plant per year. With last year’s 100 MW Shams 1 breaking ground, and this year’s 100 MW Nour 1 – this year – it looks as if Abu Dhabi is on track to meet its surprisingly pedestrian goal.

If the UAE’s Abu Dhabi is becoming the go-to spot in the MENA region for renewable energy; Abu Dhabi’s Masdar is increasingly at the center of large scale solar development in the region, as the host for the World Future Energy Summit, and the builder of the world’s first carbon neutral city.

Given this leadership, a mere 7% renewable by 2020 is an unambitious goal for a nation with such solar-wealth – and with such forward looking renewable ideas otherwise – the equally sun-blessed California is going for 33% by 2020.

Related:
Abu Dhabi’s Torresol $5 Billion Solar Plans Include US
Masdar Awards $600 Million Contract for ‘World’s Largest’ Thermal Solar Plant in UAE
Masdar Calls for Bids For A Second 100 MW Solar Project

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