Masdar, in partnership with Total, begins plans for the development of the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant -Shams- and the first concentrated solar power (CSP) station to become registered under the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism and eligible for carbon credits.
2009
2010
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, attends the announcement of the commencement of construction.
Shams project was awarded- “Middle East Renewable Energy Deal of the year” 2010 by Project Finance Magazine Project Finance magazine awards Shams the “Middle East Renewables Deal of the Year 2010”.
Site levelling begins to prepare for construction.
2011
Steam turbines, an the essential part of the Shams power plant, are installed.
2012
Construction of Shams is completed.
2013
Shams is officially inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The first kilowatt-hour of electricity is produced and the plant successfully starts to generate power to the national grid.
Shams receives the Emirates Energy Award 2013 - Large Energy Project Award by Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and Project of the Year Award 2013 by Emirates Solar Industry Association
2014
Shams Power Company welcomes Ban Ki-moon, the then Secretary-General of the United Nations.
2015
Shams begins work placement and internship programmes for university students, aimed at educating and developing the next generation of sustainability leaders.
2016
Shams is announced as the 2016 winner of the Middle East Solar Industry Association’s (MESIA) MENASOL award.
2017
In collaboration with Masdar and Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), Shams Power Company begins hosting solar project competitions between high schools in Al Dhafra region.
2018
Shams starts using a new efficient technology to clean the plant’s parabolic trough mirrors.
2019
Shams Power Company achieves a new milestone of one-million man-hours without lost time injuries.
2020
Shams completes its first main outage, which included maintenance of the main turbine. More than 400 people and 25 different companies were involved in completing the successful outage.