The Middle East’s largest grid-connected solar-power facility at Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, is now finished.  With a 10 Megawatt capacity, the Masdar photovoltaic site was officially launched on May 31st by the ADWEA (Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Facility) Chairman, Sheikh Diab bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Masdar City Solar Plant

The Masdar City solar plant covers an area of 212,000 square miles.  Across this expanse, almost 90,000 individual solar panels have been installed which, combined, will generate 17,500 Megawatt-hours (MW-h) of energy per annum.  This energy will be drawn upon to power Masdar City itself – a project started three years ago close to Abu Dhabi city that aims to create a community of businesses and residences solely reliant on renewable energy sources for their electricity needs.

If all goes to plan, Masdar City is set to be the first city in the world that derives its power from renewable energy sources, which is carbon neutral and which produces zero waste.  It is being developed as a strand of a wider Masdar Initiative – a venture that – with the Mubudala Development Company at the driving wheel – is aiming to progress the development and absorption into the mainstream of energy created from renewable sources.

Ultimately, it is planned that Masdar City will comprise of  1,500 office spaces and have a population of about 50,000 residents.  Cars will be entirely banned – an extensive network of public transport facilities taking their place.

Photovoltaic Power Plant

The photovoltaic power plant was finished by local solar power firm Enviromena Power Systems, whose chief executive officer, Sami Khoreibi, described it on Sunday as a “...major milestone in the development of Masdar City and Abu Dhabi's decision to achieve a 7% renewable energy target by 2020.”

The photovoltaic facility’s build was overseen by Sander Trestain, the vice president of Enviromena, who added:  “This facility proves that utility scale grid connected renewable energy projects are feasible in Abu Dhabi and the wider region.”

Among the environmental groups backing Masdar City are Bioregional and the WWF, who have endorsed the site as a One Planet Living Community.