UAE: Major solar plant to go operational before COP28 summit

UAE: Major solar plant to go operational before COP28 summit

French partner of Al Dhafra project says it will provide enough electricity for 160,000 households in the UAE

French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire (C), gestures during a visit at the Al Dhafra Solar Photovoltaic Independent Power Producer (IPP) project. — AFP

By AFP Published: Tue 31 Jan 2023, 8:00 PM

One of the world's biggest solar plants will become fully operational this year in the UAE, months before it hosts UN climate talks, a partner company said on Tuesday.

The UAE 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 south of 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.

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

Emirati companies TAQA and Masdar own 60 per cent of the project, which they describe as the world's largest single-site solar plant. The remainder