Major UAE solar plant to go online before COP summit: energy firm – The Peninsula

Major UAE solar plant to go online before COP summit: energy firm – The Peninsula

Abu Dhabi: One of the world's biggest solar plants will become fully operational this year in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, months before it hosts UN climate talks, a partner company said on Tuesday.

The UAE, a major oil exporter, is spending billions to develop enough renewable energy to cover half of its needs by 2050, and is targeting net-zero domestic carbon emissions by that year.

Al Dhafra project, located in the desert some 35 kilometres (21.7 miles) south of the capital Abu Dhabi, will provide enough electricity for 160,000 households in the country of 10 million people, said Olivier Bordes, regional director for France's EDF Renewables.

"It started producing its first kilowatt hours of electricity at the end of last year and should officially go into service before the summer," Bordes told AFP.

An employee walks at Al Dhafra Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Independent Power Producer (IPP) project, in the United Arab Emirates' capital Abu Dhabi, during a visit by the French economy minister on January 31, 2023. (Photo by Karim Sahib / AFP)

Once fully operational, it will produce up to 2.1 gigawatts, he added.

State-owned Emirati companies TAQA and Masdar own 60 percent of the project, which they describe as the world's largest single-site