UAE state-owned renewable energy company Masdar will develop a new solar and battery storage park capable of delivering 1 GW of uninterrupted renewable energy, the company announced on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week event, Masdar chairman, ADNOC CEO and UAE minister of industry and advanced technology Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said the project will be developed jointly by Masdar and the Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) and command investments of up to USD 6 billion.
The park will feature a 5.2-GW solar PV plant and a 19-GWh battery energy storage system that together will generate 1 GW of uninterrupted clean power, or enough to supply the equivalent of about 500,000 households. Masdar placed the estimated emissions savings from the venture at up to 5.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.
“For decades, the biggest barrier facing renewables has been intermittency. It has been the moonshot challenge of our time. This project will, for the first time ever, transform renewable energy into baseload energy,” said Al Jaber.
Masdar did not share details about the location of the park but advanced that it would cover an area of approximately 90 square kilometres in the Abu Dhabi desert. The target date for commencement of operation is in 2027.
Source: theenergyyear.com