Featured Image Credit: Karim Sahib/AFP / Saleh Al-Obeidi/AFP / Getty
One major project in the United Arab Emirates might just be the start of an answer to the global climate crisis, as their $6,000,000,000 battery storage solar farm will be able to produce more energy than any other of its kind once it is built.
Climate change is an issue that's facing the entire world, and one of the most reliable ways to tackle the issue is through a transition to renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.
Even Gulf States - who export most of the world's oil - are beginning to focus their efforts on more sustainable methods, and the UAE looks to be leading the pack with their latest project.
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Plans for a $6,000,000,000 mega solar and battery farm have been announced, and it stands out from the rest not only through what it can generate but also how it can maintain its power levels.
The solar facility on its own, built by Abu Dhabi state-controlled energy company Masdar, will be able to generate 5.2GW of power, but linking it to a battery storage facility will allow this power to almost quadruple and remain far more reliable.
As reported by The Edge Malaysia, one of the biggest issues facing solar power in particular is its reliance on the sun itself, as when that is not present you're not able to generate power.
Of course, placing a farm in somewhere as hot and as sunny as the United Arab Emirates is going to fare better than most places, but the integration of battery storage allows power to be distributed even when it's not actively generated.
This comes alongside the nation's mission to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and Masdar Chairman Sultan Al Jaber has remarked that the project will "transform renewable energy into baseload energy," and that it is "a first step that could become a giant leap" in the UAE's desire for a clean energy solution.
Stretching 90km, the facility will be able to store up to 19GWh in power, which is 13.5 times greater than the current world's largest solar power storage facility in Nevada.
While this would make it by far the largest of its kind once completed now, it does face rivalry from China as they're currently in the process of building a 'solar great wall' that would be capable of generating up to 100GWh of power.
19GWh is still nothing to scoff at though, as New York, for example, consumes between 5.5 and 10GW on an average day, so having double that in a single storage facility would certainly make a huge difference when it comes to saving the planet.
