UAE ranks third in concentrated solar power

Masdar’s Shams I concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in Abu Dhabi catapulted the UAE to its new ranking as third among the world’s nations in both 2013 CSP technology investment and total CSP capacity.

UAE now ranks only behind Spain and the US in total CSP generation; India and China round out the world’s top five.

The rankings were recently unveiled in a report by REN21, an international multi-policy stakeholder network that promotes a rapid global transition to renewable energy.

According to REN21, the 100 megawatt CSP plant in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region is one reason why CSP’s growth in emerging markets almost tripled during 2013. Although Spain and the US are still by far the market leaders in CSP, investment in this technology is accelerating most rapidly in regions that receive high amounts of daily sunshine or, in industry terminology, high direct normal irradiation (DNI).