Masdar installs 15-MW solar park in Mauritania

Apr 19, 2013 - Abu Dhabi's state-owned renewable energy developer Masdar said Thursday it had put on stream a 15-MW photovoltaic (PV) park in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.

The USD-32-million (EUR 24.5m) Sheikh Zayed solar facility now brings 10% of Mauritania’s total power capacity of 144 MW. The country is experiencing power shortages due to its limited power generation capacity and solar power is seen as one possible solution to that issue.

The solar park in the capital city Nouakchott includes 29,826 thin-film panels. No concrete was used during installation, instead the structure that supports the panels has been piled into the ground. The plant will avoid the release of 21,225 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, Madsar calculates.

As part of its efforts to improve energy access in the developing world, Masdar is involved in other projects, such as a 6-MW wind power plant on the Seychelles; a 500-kW PV park project in Tonga and an initiative to install off-grid solar systems for 600 residences in Afghanistan.

In mid-March Masdar said it had switched on the 100-MW Shams 1 concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in the UAE. The facility was developed in cooperation with French group Total (EPA:FP) and Spanish Abengoa (MCE:ABG). Total investment in the project reached USD 600 million.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.765)

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