Recently, Masdar New Energy City in the UAE, Khalifa University in the UAE and Azelio, a company specializing in developing long-term energy storage projects in Sweden, jointly launched a "photovoltaic + energy storage" pilot project for sustainable power supply in the desert area of Abu Dhabi.
The project uses a long-term energy storage device developed by Azelio, which uses a phase-change material made of recycled aluminum alloy as a heat storage medium, which can store energy in the form of heat in metal alloys made of recycled aluminum and silicon. And at night, the generator is used to convert it into electric energy, so as to achieve long-term continuous power supply, and the maximum energy storage time of the device can reach 13 hours. The long-term energy storage project will undergo extensive and extensive demonstrations and tests on the Masdar Institute solar platform to obtain data on how to achieve optimal long-term energy storage in desert environments.
Energy storage technology is a key link in the development of renewable energy. Different from traditional energy power generation, renewable energy power generation has small unit capacity, large quantity, scattered distribution, and has obvious intermittent, fluctuating and random characteristics, which requires energy storage technology to keep up with the development of renewable energy,” The "renewable energy + energy storage" model has become the general trend of the industry.
The United Arab Emirates is located in a desert area. Although it has good solar energy resources, the extreme climate of high temperature in the desert also puts forward higher requirements for energy storage technology. In addition to thermal energy storage, the UAE is also vigorously developing hydrogen energy storage. Hydrogen energy storage technology is developed by utilizing the mutual change of electricity and hydrogen energy. Hydrogen energy storage can store both electricity and hydrogen and its derivatives, such as ammonia and methanol.
The UAE government has always attached great importance to the development of renewable energy including solar energy and wind energy to accelerate the country's energy transformation. In 2021, the UAE announced that it will invest more than 600 billion dirhams in the field of renewable energy, with the goal of achieving net zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. As a result, the UAE has also become the first oil-producing country in the Middle East to propose net zero carbon emissions. countries with emission strategies.
At present, a series of renewable energy power generation and energy storage projects have been launched in the UAE. The total installed capacity of the Dhafra photovoltaic power station project under construction in Abu Dhabi has reached 2 gigawatts (GW). According to estimates, the power station can meet the electricity demand of about 160,000 households in the UAE, reduce carbon emissions by more than 3.6 million tons per year, and increase the total installed photovoltaic capacity of Abu Dhabi to 3.2 gigawatts (GW). In addition, the UAE's first wind power demonstration project has also been officially launched. The project will build a total installed capacity of 100 million yuan in the Sir Bani Yas Island, Delma Island, Sila area in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the Al Halah Mountains in the Emirate of Fujairah. 103.5 megawatts (MW) of wind and 14 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaics. It is expected that the UAE’s renewable energy capacity will grow at a CAGR of more than 31% by 2025, and the share of renewable energy generation will increase from 7% in 2020 to 21% in 2030.
