Note: this image is merely illustrative and not a real depiction of the project in question
Solar energy
I'm an enthusiast of alternative sources of energy, especially solar, as this was my specialization in my "past life".
It's been a while since I switched careers, but back in the day, I was researching some cutting-edge technology in solar power, and while I'm sure the industry has evolved a lot since then, I can still consider myself relatively knowledgeable in this area.
That's one of the reasons I always keep my eyes open for any news related to solar power.
I'm specially interested in projects using concentrated solar power (CSP) technology rather than the more common solar panels because that was the type of technology I used to work with but even though many years have passed, it seems CSP still hasn't gained significant momentum.
That's understandable since it is still relatively new and much more technically complex compared to solar panels but I still hope to see CSP projects flourishing in the near future.
The world's largest solar plant
A gigantic solar farm is being built in Abu Dhabi and when it's complete and fully operational it will be the world's largest solar energy plant.
The 5.2-GW plant will also be the world's first '24/7' solar photovoltaic plant coupled with a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) to match. That means this project addresses one of the main limitations of solar energy, which is supplying energy when there is no sun.
Personally, I don't know why they chose to go with solar panels instead of concentrated solar power.
There are no official numbers regarding the size of the farm, but based on the planned output, it's possible to estimate that it will need close to 10 million panels, which translates to an area of around 20.25 square miles, which is nearly 10,000 football fields. And that's not counting the BESS.
That's enough land to justify building a concentrated solar power plant. Another factor to take into consideration is radiation incidence. I don't know what kind of radiation levels they get over in Abu Dhabi but I believe that wouldn't be an issue.
Perhaps the project has financial incentives to use solar panels, or maybe they know something I don't, which is very likely, seeing that I've been out of "the game" for a long time.
Still, this project is good news for alternative energy and, of course, solar and a good project altogether. Between the 5.2-GW solar plant and the 19-GWh BESS, the project will deliver up to 1 GW of baseload power gathered using solar panels every day. That should be enough to power 750,000 homes.
With an estimated cost of US$6 billion, the project is expected to be commissioned in 2027 and will help the United Arab Emirates with its Net Zero by 2050 target.
Final thoughts
As a "retired specialist," it's always nice to see new solar power projects emerge. Despite many challenges in the sector, solar power continues to thrive.
This new project snagged the first place of a 3.5-GW Chinese project, which was said to be the world's biggest solar farm last year, and it's possible that yet another project will come and become the new champion.
As our need for energy rises and the pursuit of cleaner sources increases, solar is very well positioned to increase its share of the global energy generation market.