Oil-rich UAE inaugurates world's largest solar power plant

The oil-rich United Arab Emirates (UAE) today officially opened the world's largest concentrated solar power plant, an USD 600 million project which can provide electricity to 20,000 homes.
President of UAE and the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan inaugurated the 'Shams 1' solar power station in Madinat Zayed, in presence of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, 'Gulf News' reported.
With this new solar project, Masdar will be producing 10 per cent of world's renewable energy, said Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar, adding that the UAE is now producing 68 per cent of the total renewable energy produced by the members of Gulf Cooperation Council, a political and economic union of the Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf.

The construction of Shams 1, a joint venture between Masdar, a company based in Abu Dhabi and international operatives like Total and Abengoa, started in the third quarter of 2010 and will produce 100 Megawatt of electricity.
The solar park features long lines of parabolic mirrors spread over an area equivalent to 285 football pitches in the desert of the Western Region, some 120 kilometres southwest of Abu Dhabi.