Dust clouds sap UAE's solar panels' power

The country's first solar power plant is cranking up its energy-generating performance following last week¡¯s dusty weather, which reduced its output by as much as 40 per cent.

Built for Masdar, the Abu Dhabi Government's sustainability initiative, the power plant is capable of converting sunlight into energy without emitting carbon dioxide or other gases responsible for global warming.

But the fact that this technology relies on natural factors makes it vulnerable to the weather.

Last Sunday, when the amount of suspended dust in the air was between 1,500 and 2,000 parts per million - more than 10 times higher than normal ¨C the plant functioned at 60 per cent of its capacity, said Khaled Awad, director of Masdar City, the world's largest carbon-neutral urban development now being built on the outskirts of the capital.

"There have been several sand storms since the plant was commissioned earlier this year, though this has been one of the longest," said Mr Awad.

"Dust storms are a normal part of life in the desert. We anticipated this type of weather when we began construction of the plant and it therefore does not impact our operational strategy."

Masdar's plant has a capacity of 10 megawatts - enough to power some 8,000 homes ¨C and saves 15,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere every year.

It consists of rows of photovoltaic solar panels, made of specialised semiconductor materials, which turn sunlight into electricity. The installation consists of 87,777 solar modules spread over 200,000 square metres ¨C an area the size of 27 football pitches.