The world's biggest single-unit solar plant is almost complete, one of its owners has announced.
And while the project isn't being developed in Australia, it has been lauded as good news for the industry.
The Shams 1 facility in Abu Dhabi boasts an impressive 100 MW of generation capacity, with construction set to finish by the end of this year.
There are bigger solar power plants around the world, CleanTechnica reports, but these are made up of a collection of units bunched together – all totalling less than 100 MW each.
Yousuf Al Ali, general manager of the Shams Power Company, claimed the project is a huge success.
"Shams 1 is the largest concentrated solar power project in the world," he stated.
"Developing a project of this scale is a significant achievement for Abu Dhabi, Masdar and its partners, Total and Abengoa."
A joint venture, Masdar owns 60 per cent of the facility, while Total and Abengoa each have 20 per cent stakes.
The official opening date is slated for the first quarter of 2013, and Shams 2 and 3 are expected soon should the plant be deemed a success.
Shams 1 cost $600 million to develop during its three-year construction phase.
Posted by Mike Peacock