Al-Dhafra Solar Power Plant – 4,700 GWh – Al-Dhafra
- Abu Dhabi’s first solar PV plant, the 935MW Sweihan independent power project (IPP), began operating in 2019.
- The UAE capital’s second utility-scale solar PV IPP in Al-Dhafra, which has a capacity of 1.5GW, is expected to be inaugurated imminently.
- Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) received world-record-low tariffs, as has Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa), for these projects.
- The Al Dhafra Solar PV plant is the world’s largest single-site solar power plant, covering more than 20 square kilometers of desert.
- It has a generating capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW), which is enough to provide carbon-free electricity to over 200,000 homes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
- The plant uses nearly 4 million solar panels that have innovative bi-facial technology, capturing sunlight on both sides to maximize yield.
- Expected to supply enough clean energy to power 160,000 households and offset 2,400,000t of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) annually.
- Additionally, it is projected to reduce Abu Dhabi’s CO2 emissions by more than 2.4 million metric tonnes per year, equivalent to removing approximately 470,000 cars from the road.
- The plant is expected to cost around $1,000 million and create 4,500 jobs during the construction phase.
Renewable Energy Initiatives in the UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has set so many ambitious targets and new initiatives to increase the dependence on renewable energy sources. The major goal is to increase the share of clean energy in its total power consumption to 50% by the end of 2050. The country has invested in solar and wind energy projects to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.
In this article, we are going to discuss the different renewable energy initiatives taken by the UAE in recent years in detail.
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