UAE's first floating solar power plant is about to start production

     It was reported on February 14 that the first floating solar system cost in United Arab Emirates on the island of Nurai will be put into operation within a few days. The installed capacity of the power station is only 80 kilowatts, which will become an important test case for similar projects in the region.

    Enerwhere, the company responsible for building the project, said that Dubai's man-made islands and parts of the Maldives could also benefit from floating solar power plants, which can generate low-carbon electricity without damaging beach land. However, Stefan Muckstein, chief operating officer of Enerwhere, also said that installing and maintaining solar panels on the sea is very expensive, and its cost is about three times that of onshore projects. Installing solar panels on flat deserts is technically more challenging.
 

    The UAE Energy Agency is interested in developing floating solar technology. Last year, a utility operated by the Dubai government signed a consultancy contract with Germany's FichtnerGroup to plan a floating solar power plant project. Masdar, a government-owned clean energy developer in Abu Dhabi, is building the first floating solar power project in Indonesia.