Dubai is investing $13.6 billion in the world's largest solar park. Located deep in Dubai's desert interior, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is named after the emirate's ruler and the UAE's vice president and prime minister. Currently, a traditional solar park already stands there, which will be steadily expanded in the coming years. In the coming years, a so-called Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) field will also be developed, with the tallest CSP tower in the world.

Concentrated Solar Power

With CSP, energy is stored as heat rather than in batteries, also known as thermal energy. Christos Markides, professor of clean energy technologies at Imperial College London explains to CNN: "Thermal energy storage is about 10 times cheaper than electrical energy storage. Typically, CSP has an efficiency slightly higher than photovoltaic cells (PVs). That gives that particular technology an advantage."

Electricity in the desert at night, too

Specifically, CSP can continue to make electricity even without sun and well into the night. Dubai's tower can store 15 hours of heat and will be able to provide power 24 hours a day, according to Dubai authorities. When completed, the CSP tower will reach a maximum of 260 meters and will be surrounded by 70,000 heliostats.

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