Dubai Plans To Build Region’s Biggest Solar Energy Plant
November 4th, 2008
Israel touts some of the world’s best solar technology advances (see our extensive solar energy company guide here), but its Middle East neighbor Dubai, says it is planning to set up the region’s largest solar energy manufacturing plant. They are expected to start producing by the last quarter in 2010, and will manufacture photovoltaic panels that can generate 130 megawatts of power annually.
The building plans call for a 1 million square foot plant, with solar panels to be produced as big as 5.7sqm. Similar plants will be built in China, Mexico and Bulgaria. The announcement was made during this week’s Green Dubai World Forum 2008.
According to the Khaleej Times, it will be the Middle East’s largest solar panel plant, and it will be located in Dubai’s Technopark. The intent to build the solar plant came with the announcement that that UAE intends to adopt green building legislation, the first of its kind in the world. Dubai hopes to become a sustainable building pioneer, and has started incorporating green building practices into new projects since the beginning of 2008.
Dilip Rahulan, the CEO of Solar Technologies said: “The energy from sunlight striking the Earth for 40 minutes is equivalent to the global energy consumption for a whole year. The mission of Solar Technologies is to accelerate the adoption of solar photo-voltaic by rapidly expanding manufacturing capacity and significantly reducing the cost of solar modules through innovations and manufacturing excellence.
“We intend to become one of the largest solar photo-voltaic module manufacturing units in the world over a period of time.”
For more Dubai on Green Prophet, see:
A Green Survey of Dubai and The United Arab Emerites
Dubai’s Wind-Powered Rotating Skyscraper is Building in Motion
For more solar powered stories on Green Prophet, see:
Guide to Israeli Solar Energy Companies
EWA Solar Energy Powers Air Conditioning With Solar Power
Solar Energy Design Aesthetic
Brightsource and Luz II Creates the World’s First Solar Thermal Energy Plant in Israel
Solar Hope Floats On Geotectura’s Solar Energy Balloons
::Khaleej Times
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This is a very important project in that it addresses some of the most intractable problems we face in the world. The movement toward Green could become part and parcel of an effort not only to protect the environment, but to create good paying jobs as well. At a time when we are all facing an economic crisis, it becomes even more important to find ways to grow our economies, but in ways that take into account environmental concerns. I also think that a project of this sort could help restore Arab pride by showing that the Arab world can become a leader in launching the next phase of human developmnent.
Now if a plant of this sort could be built in the West Bank, that would be even better. Not only would we grow our economies with good paying jobs, and not only would we use green jobs to protect our environment, but we would also be using such jobs to help neutralize the hold of extremist thinking. If people are given a place at the table, a stake in their future, they are less likely to succumb to the lure of extremist thinking.
Several Middle East countries have the captial to make projects of this sort happen. They should be encouraged to do so, and to convert oil profits into green profits. And even places like Dubai, which is not swimming in oil, could harness the entrepreneurial spirit, which has always been a part of Arab culture, to venture forth into new economic frontiers, and to lead the way into the future.
Green Prophet
SUn has much to share with our sunny region and that is so wise of Dubai to invest in solar energy. The sun rises each moring from the East, showering the lands and people and all other elements of being with an equal love and enthusiams, she doesn’t care how we share our energy among ourselves, if we use it to help one another or if we use it to dechage one another, sun showers all of us with the blessings of light and warmth and enrgery. I hope for a Sunny behavior every where, including our Middle East
Viva Dubai
Seeing as it’s in Dubai,it strikes me more as another effort to add another item to its list of records rather than a genuine effort to shift to clean energy.
But still, it’s a good step and it’s really delightful to see the leaders paying more attention to its environmental problem. What I would like to see is a greater assessment of the impact the artificial islands that are popping up all over the Persian/Arabian Gulf will have in the long term.
Exactly. That’s why I think what Dubai doing this, while great, is so ironic. It spent the past decade suffocating and destroying its marine environment, and it continues to do so to do with its dozes of artifical lands and islands, what makes them stop now and consider the environment that they have so actively disregarded?
It’s hard to believe that they’re doing this because they sincerely care. This is PR. Because the world’s focus has shifted to environmental activism, Dubai, as usual, seeks attention, and this is the best way to get it.
Kudos for their attempts, after all the useless projects they have created, this one is actually useful, but we’ll see how seriously they take it. Time will tell whether or not they actually care about the environment.
Plenty of money, plenty of sun. Dubai seems perfect for solar energy. I see the Saudi’s are also flexing their muscles as well and investing heavily in solar power.
Hey:
Need to couple Solar with Energy Storage to efficiently and fully utilize Solar Energy during 24 hrs cycle. Hydrogen is one of the most efficient energy carrier and can be readily generated using Photo-electrolysis and converted to electricity using for example Fuel Cells. Dubai and Saudi’s should include this in their plans to fully capture value of solar and to become a truly “Green” energy producer.