The UAE's emirate of Sharjah, the third biggest in the seven-member federation, plans to build the Gulf's first waste-to-solar energy facility amid a push to produce at least 44% of the country's power from clean energy by 2050.
Sharjah-based Bee'ah, a waste management and renewable energy company, will transform 47 ha of a landfill area into a solar energy facility once the landfill is capped, it said. The project will generate more than 42 MW of power a year from waste in a landfill and from the sun once it is complete.
Emirates Waste to Energy Co., a joint venture between Bee'ah and Abu Dhabi clean energy company Masdar, will launch the project in 2021 in two phases. The Sharjah Waste to Energy Facility will transform the landfill into a solar energy farm after reaching its zero-waste target.
The first phase includes converting 270,565 sq m of the landfill into a 24 MW solar farm and in phase two an additional 200,099 sq m will create 16 MW in solar power.
The Sharjah Waste to Energy Facility has an annual capacity of processing 300,000 mt of non-recyclable waste.
The UAE, which currently relies mostly on natural gas for power and water generation, is adding renewables and nuclear power to its energy mix as it frees up gas for consumption in industries and other sectors.
