Abu Dhabi’s alternative energy initiative Masdar has selected the bidding consortium of Total (NYSE: TOT) and Abengoa Solar as a partner to own, build and operate Shams 1–which is planned to be one of the world’s largest concentrated solar power plants and the first-of-its-kind in the Middle East.
One of Masdar’s flagship projects, Shams 1 will contribute towards Abu Dhabi’s target of achieving 7% renewable energy power generation capacity by 2020.
The joint venture between Masdar (60%), Total (20%) and Abengoa Solar (20%) will develop, build, operate and maintain the plant to be located in Madinat Zayed, 120 kilometres southwest of Abu Dhabi. Abengoa Solar is a unit of Spanish corporation Abengoa (ABG.MC).
Shams 1 will cover an area of 2.5 square-kilometers, with a capacity of approximately 100 megawatts (MW) and a solar field consisting of 768 parabolic trough collectors to be supplied by Abengoa Solar. Construction is set to begin during 3Q10 and is expected to take approximately two years.
Shams 1 is registered under the United Nations’ Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and will be eligible for carbon credits. It is the first CSP plant registered under CDM and the second project registered for Masdar. The plant will displace approximately 175,000 tons of CO2 annually, equivalent to planting 1.5 million trees or removing 15,000 cars from Abu Dhabi’s roads.
In May, Abengoa Solar began commercial operation of a 50-MW CSP plant in Spain.
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