Masdar City PV plant — United Arab Emirates

Masdar City PV plant is a 10 MW solar power plant in Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is operated by Masdar. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 4.3k homes (estimated). It ranks #59 of 60 United Arab Emirates power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2013, it is around 13 years old — relatively modern. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, solar supplies about 8.6% of United Arab Emirates's electricity; the national grid averages 468 gCO₂/kWh (31.7% low-carbon) (2024).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1008740.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000804082; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 10 MW, Masdar City PV plant is below the median solar plant in United Arab Emirates (200 MW). Technically it is described as PV. Solar PV converts sunlight directly into electricity with no moving parts or fuel; output varies by time of day and weather, so it pairs with storage or flexible backup.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Key facts

Share of United Arab Emirates solar capacity

1.2% of 840 MW across 6 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

0 of 3 dated solar plants in United Arab Emirates are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Capacity vs largest solar plants in United Arab Emirates

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Masdar.

Local climate & thermal context

This solar plant converts sunlight directly into electricity with photovoltaic panels. It sits in a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 24.4°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

This site has effectively no heating season (tropical/equatorial climate), so winter heat loss is not the driver here. The thermal concern shifts to year-round process heat and humidity/heat-driven corrosion of hot equipment.

Solar PV loses ~0.35%/°C above 25°C cell temperature — roughly 3.7% at warm-season highs here (estimate).

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #5 largest solar power plant of 6 in United Arab Emirates by capacity.

United Arab Emirates has 6 solar power plants in this dataset, together about 840 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• APC UAN · Gas · 2,430 MW · Abu Dhabi
• Al Nakheel power station · Gas · 2,353 MW · Abu Dhabi
• Dhafra Power Plant · Gas · 1,000 MW · Emirate of Abu Dhabi
• Taweelah C Independent Power Producer (IPP) · Gas · 2,500 MW · Emirate of Abu Dhabi
• Taweelah A1 · Gas · 1,672.5 MW · Emirate of Abu Dhabi
• Taweelah A2 · Gas · 760 MW · Emirate of Abu Dhabi

Location

Coordinates 24.4345, 54.6085 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions