Masdar looks to global partnerships to drive renewable energy, executive director tells Euronews

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Masdar looks to global partnerships to drive renewable energy, executive director tells Euronews

Masdar is working with global partners to make renewable energy more competitive with conventional sources, and to increase its own in-house expertise, Masdar Clean Energy’s executive director, Yousif Al Ali, told Euronews. 

Masdar today is active in more than 30 countries around the world, working on renewable energy projects that have a total power generating capacity of more than 5GW. In Morocco, Masdar is exploring hybrid systems, featuring concentrated solar power (CSP) to harness solar power by using mirrored technology, Al Ali told the international news channel.  

“A photovoltaic plant, plus with CSP, and a molten salt storage can provide the required electricity - day and night - at the lowest cost possible,” he said. 

While growing public awareness of climate change and a need to reduce energy costs is driving research into renewable solutions, Al Ali cautioned that more work still needs to be done for solar power to deliver its full potential. 

“It’s a good economical choice, however, it’s a partial supplier of electricity,” he told Euronews. “It’s an intermittent source that can supply electricity only in the daytime. When you start implementing storage systems, batteries are still more expensive. And we still have to work to bring down the system price to an affordable level.”

Masdar City is providing a model for the future, with on-site solar power generation helping to reduce carbon emissions and deliver cost savings for residents, Euronews reported.