Masdar passes 50% mark in Mauritania solar power plant network construction

Masdar recently announced that it had passed the halfway mark in its project to construct a 16.6MW solar power plant network in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.
Masdar broke ground on the project in December last year. When complete, the network of eight solar power plants will almost double the UAE's contribution to Mauritania's renewable energy capacity to a total of 31.6MW.
The plants will supply 30 per cent of the electricity demand to the remote communities of Boutilimit, Aleg, Aioune, Akjoujt, Atar, El Chami, Boulenour, and Bani Chab, reducing their dependency on diesel-fuelled generators, decreasing annual fuel costs and lowering carbon dioxide emissions.
Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, said: "Masdar operates across the whole clean energy chain, from developing utility-scale projects to deploying off-grid solutions. In Mauritania, we are executing a project, furthering the UAE's historic role as a supporter of clean energy access around the globe. Delivery of this innovative network will bring electricity to thousands of families for the first time."
Mauritanian national electricity provider Société Mauritanienne d'electricité selected Masdar as the preferred partner for the project based on the successful delivery of the 15MW Sheikh Zayed Solar Power Plant in the capital city of Nouakchott.
Khaled Ballaith, director of Masdar Special Projects, said: "By working in remote locations like Afghanistan and the Pacific Islands, our team has acquired vast expertise in deploying small-scale off-grid solutions to communities without access to secure energy. Our capacity for efficient delivery under challenging conditions is the reason why we were assigned this project in Mauritania."
- business@khaleejtimes.com