Known as the capital and second largest city of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi has quickly grown to become a highly affluent metropolis that has been coined as the “richest city in the world” by both Fortune Magazine and CNN. And now the city can add another notch to its belt, as it is currently working on opening the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant. What better place to situate a solar plant than an area that is mostly desert, right?

With the project initially starting back in June 2010, the plant will be finally completed at some point this year and will yield up an astounding 100 megawatts of electricity, or the amount of power needed for around 20,000 homes.

With the length to fill 285 football fields, the location is completely covered by a giant solar field and contains countless rows of metal frames with curved glass mirrors, according to a recent report.

How it works is the sunlight that falls onto the mirrors is then automatically reflected on to a small glass tube above the mirrors. The concentrated sunlight then heats up the collector tube and starts what is needed to offer this high level of electricity.

Ensuring the mirrors were placed at just the right angle was a major challenge, Laurent Longuet, the project manager revealed. “You need to be accurate and you need to be accurate each time,” he said in a statement.

With around 258,048 mirrors and a little more than 80 percent complete, the equipment will soon be entering the testing phase where I’m sure many people will be crossing their fingers, as well as their toes for success.

This new solar generating plant is a crucial first step in the Plan Abu Dhabi 2030, which has been developed to completely eliminate the country’s need for any amount of oil.

The country has long been interested in investing in renewable energies such as wind, solar and hydro power to help meet increasing energy demand and last year hosted a two-day meeting that would enable African governments to take advantage of these technologies.

"We need right now to start making the kinds of investment that will lead Africa on a very different path," Amin, a Kenyan who is director general of the International Renewable Energy Agency.


Edited by Amanda Ciccatelli