Acciona sets industry record in testing for Dubai solar park

Acciona Energía, a consortium partner for the Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park, has obtained a world record in the power measurement process for the project’s photovoltaic generators during a test campaign at the El Romero Solar photovoltaic plant in the Atacama Desert in Chile.

One of the key factors in the characterisation tests for the PV installations is the measurement of current-voltage or I-V curves. These curves express the relationship between current and voltage in photovoltaic generators.

In the test campaign carried out by Acciona and the Solar Energy Institute of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, the I-V curves of the PV generators were measured and showed a total capacity of more than 1MW.

The measurement of power of this magnitude is a world record for this kind of analysis, in which commercially available devices to measure I-V curves are limited to 150kW, i.e. seven times less.

This means that the key parameters of the generator can be measured (e.g. peak power point) and compared with the manufacturer's documentation, plus an analysis of their evolution over time.

This pioneering UAE based Solar Park project gained global attention in June 2016, when the project was awarded to a consortium led by UAE’s Masdar, who smashed the record at the time for low prices offered for energy generated through solar.

The price was set at USD 0.0299 per kWh, and although there were widespread doubt that a project could go through on such a low price, the PPAs were signed by Masdar and the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) in November last year.

However, the tests indicate how new standards are already being set in the UAE’s push to install and promote renewable energy, and specifically, have clean energy make up 75% of its energy mix under the UAE Energy Strategy 2050.

Acciona is a partner in an EPC consortium led by Gransolar, and including the Italian company Ghella, for phase three of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the world’s largest photovoltaic plant.

Jesus Sancho, MD of Acciona Middle East, commented: “This achievement supports Acciona as a key business partner in the Middle East who always provides cutting edge solutions to global infrastructure projects.”