United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan inaugurated on Sunday the 100-megawatt solar plant Shams 1 in the desert of Abu Dhabi, the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant in operation.
Covering an area of 2.5 square km, the 600-
million-U.S. dollars project incorporates the latest
in parabolic trough technology and features more
than 258,000 mirrors mounted on 768 tracking
parabolic trough collectors, capable of delivering
green electricity to 20,000 homes.
The president applauded Shams 1 as a major
milestone in the country’s economic diversification and a step toward long-term energy security, saying that the plant demonstrated the UAE’s commitment to maintaining its position as a major provider of
energy.
The UAE, a major oil supplier, aims to reduce its
dependence on oil and gas for domestic power
needs to 75 percent until 2030 from the current 99
percent.
As the biggest step so far, Sharms 1 will
contribute to Abu Dhabi’s goal of getting seven
percent of its energy from renewable source by
2020.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/
world/2013-03/18/c_132241124_2.htm