Shams 1 features more than 258,000 mirrors mounted on 768 tracking parabolic trough collectors.
Covering an area of 2.5 square kilometers, equivalent to 285 football fields, Shams 1 generates enough electricity to power 20,000 homes in the UAE.
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Shams 1 Milestones
2009–The Project Owner Masdar Power Company, together with partners Total and Abengoa Solar begun planning Shams1, which was registered on September 8th, 2009.
2010–Commencement of construction.
2011–Ground work complete and installation of parallel loops and mirrors commenced.
May 2011–Erection of the 220-ton steam turbine
August 2011–Installation of the heat exchanger
August 2012–Beginning of the testing and commissioning
March 2013–Construction completed and project officially inaugurated.
2014–Operating at full capacity.
January 2016–Masdar purchase Abengoa’s stake in this project
October 2018–Abu Dhabi Retirement Pensions and Benefits Fund (ADRPBF) purchased a 29% stake in Shams 1. Masdar remains the majority shareholder with a 51% stake.
To take a deep visit onsite to the project, you may also join CSP Focus MENA 2019 event on Jun.24-27 in UAE, during which the delegation got opportunity to view Shams 1 project in Abu Dhabi on the first day.
Moreover, Majed Al Awadhi, General Manager of the Project Owner Shams Power Company will be speaking at the afterwards Jun.26-27 industry conference & expo in Dubai.