The United Kingdom has officially opened the London Array, the world's largest offshore wind project.
Built by a consortium of developers including DONG Energy, utility E.ON, and Masdar, the $2.3 billion project consists of 175 Siemens 3.6-megawatt turbines with a nameplate capacity of 630 megawatts. Each turbine sports three blades with an overall diameter of 117 meters. The project is located about 20 kilometers off London.
The project is owned by its lead developers. DONG Energy, Denmark's largest energy company, owns 50%. E.ON, parent of the world's largest investor-owned electric utility, owns 30%. Masdar, Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company, has a 20% stake in the project.
The addition of the London Array brings the United Kingdom to about 3.3 gigawatts of installed offshore wind capacity.
Energy powers society; society's choices shape energy policy. A blog about our energy resources and the choices they present for society.
Showing posts with label Masdar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Masdar. Show all posts
UAE opens first 100 MW solar project
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
The United Arab Emirates has recognized the start-up of its largest solar energy project to date.
The Shams 1 solar plant generates of electricity by concentrating solar thermal energy to vaporize a fluid into steam, which in turn spins a turbine. Shams 1 can produce up to 100 megawatts of power, making the project the world's largest concentrating solar power projects.
Concentrating solar power, or CSP projects, use mirrors to heat a working fluid and ultimately to produce steam. Shams 1 uses parabolic trough mirrors to focus the sun's energy on pipes full of a working fluid, while other concentrating solar projects focus mirrors on a central tower containing the working fluid. That working fluid's heat is then exchanged into water, which vaporizes into superheated steam. It is this steam that spins the turbine attached to an electric generator. Concentrating solar thermal projects differ from those using photovoltaic technology, in which the sun's energy is converted into direct current electricity using specialized semiconductors.
Shams 1 was developed by Shams Power Company PJSC, a special purpose vehicle owned 60% by UAE-owned Masdar and 40% by the Total Abengoa Solar Emirates Investment Company, a vehicle in turn jointly owned by Total (50%) and Abengoa (50%). These companies are said to have invested $600 million in building Shams 1.
With its commissioning, Shams 1 becomes the first utility-scale renewable power project in the UAE. Other first and "biggests" include the largest financing transaction for a solar power project (US$600 million) the largest operating single pure concentrating solar plant in the world.
UAE is blessed with energy resources. For years, interest has focused on its oil and gas production. Shams 1 is a small step toward resource diversification. Will UAE continue to invest in alternative and renewable energy?
The Shams 1 solar plant generates of electricity by concentrating solar thermal energy to vaporize a fluid into steam, which in turn spins a turbine. Shams 1 can produce up to 100 megawatts of power, making the project the world's largest concentrating solar power projects.
Concentrating solar power, or CSP projects, use mirrors to heat a working fluid and ultimately to produce steam. Shams 1 uses parabolic trough mirrors to focus the sun's energy on pipes full of a working fluid, while other concentrating solar projects focus mirrors on a central tower containing the working fluid. That working fluid's heat is then exchanged into water, which vaporizes into superheated steam. It is this steam that spins the turbine attached to an electric generator. Concentrating solar thermal projects differ from those using photovoltaic technology, in which the sun's energy is converted into direct current electricity using specialized semiconductors.
Shams 1 was developed by Shams Power Company PJSC, a special purpose vehicle owned 60% by UAE-owned Masdar and 40% by the Total Abengoa Solar Emirates Investment Company, a vehicle in turn jointly owned by Total (50%) and Abengoa (50%). These companies are said to have invested $600 million in building Shams 1.
With its commissioning, Shams 1 becomes the first utility-scale renewable power project in the UAE. Other first and "biggests" include the largest financing transaction for a solar power project (US$600 million) the largest operating single pure concentrating solar plant in the world.
UAE is blessed with energy resources. For years, interest has focused on its oil and gas production. Shams 1 is a small step toward resource diversification. Will UAE continue to invest in alternative and renewable energy?
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