Golden opportunity to visit Shams 1 and Masdar City in May

Shams 1 is being constructed in Madinat Zayed in the western region of Abu Dhabi.  At 65 per cent completion, the plant is expected to go into commissioning towards the end of the year. With an operational capacity of 100MW, it will rank amongst the largest parabolic trough power stations in the world.

The station will consist of 258,048 parabolic trough mirrors, 192 solar collector assembly loops with 8 solar collector assemblies per loop, 768 solar collector assembly units, and 27,648 absorber pipes.

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As an independent power plant it is owned, developed, operated and maintained by a joint venture between Masdar (60 per cent), Total of France and Spain’s Abengoa Solar. The plant will displace approximately 175,000 metric tonnes of CO2 per annum, which is equivalent to planting 1.5 million trees or removing 15,000 cars from Abu Dhabi roads. The plant represents a major step forward in the region towards the greater integration of sustainable energy sources in an energy market that is dependent on the hydrocarbons. Power generated will be sold to Abu Dhabi Water and Power Authority under a long term electricity deal.

In addition, MENASOL delegates will be able to visit a PV plant in Masdar City. This plant, whose 87,777 polycrystalline and thin-film modules occupy a 22-hectare site at the outer boundary of Masdar City, is the largest grid-connected solar plant in the Middle East.

Inaugurated in May 2009, the farm provides clean energy to the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology campus and Masdar's temporary on-site offices, as well as some of the ongoing Masdar City construction activities.

The energy is fed into the Abu Dhabi power grid. Abu Dhabi-based Enviromena Power Systems, a leading developer of solar projects in the region, constructed the plant. The farm aims to produce 17,500MWh of clean electricity annually, thereby offsetting 15,000 tons of carbon emissions per year - equivalent to taking 3,300 cars off Abu Dhabi's roads.

The 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, please visit the website: www.csptoday.com/menasol  or contact event organizer Max Crompton (max@csptoday.com)