UAE firm Masdar says halfway through in Mauritania solar project

A firm owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said Wednesday that it is halfway through with the construction of a 16.6 megawatt (MW) solar powered plant network in Mauritania.

The company, Masdar, said the project, once completed, would bring the total of the UAE's contribution to Mauritania's renewable energy capacity to 31.6 MW.

A previous project built by the UAE, Sheikh Zayed Solar, located in the Mauritanian capital city of Nouakchott, has a capacity of 15 MW.

The new project, which comprises a network of eight solar powered plants, was launched last December in the northwestern African country, it said in statement.

"Handover of this innovative network will provide electricity to thousands of families for the very first time, improving their lives hence enabling further socio-economic development," said Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi.

The plants will supply 30 percent of the electricity needs of the remote communities of Boutilimit, Aleg, Aioune, Akjoujt, Atar, El Chami, Boulenour and Bani Chab.

Currently, none of these communities are connected to Mauritania's national grid.

Ramahi said the new project was based on Sheikh Zayed Solar Power Plant.

When completed in 2013, it was then the largest solar power installation in Africa and Mauritania's first utility-scale solar power project, accounting for over 10 percent of the country's grid-connected capacity, said Masdar. Endit