John Kerry visits world’s largest solar park in Abu Dhabi

The US special presidential envoy for climate was given a tour of the sprawling site as he began a visit

US climate envoy John Kerry attends the Regional Climate Dialogue in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. This is Mr Kerry's first visit to the Middle East, and Asia, since being appointed to the role. Courtesy: Office of the UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change

US climate envoy John Kerry attends the Regional Climate Dialogue in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. This is Mr Kerry's first visit to the Middle East, and Asia, since being appointed to the role. Courtesy: Office of the UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change

Alok Sharma, President of Cop26, attends the Regional Climate Dialogue in Abu Dhabi.

The pledge issued at the end of the Regional Climate Dialogue vowed to help the most vulnerable.

Delegates at the talks in Abu Dhabi.

Abdullah Al Nuaimi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment and John Kerry, US climate envoy at the dialogue.

Abdullah Al Nuaimi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, at the Regional Climate Dialogue.

The dialogue comes during a critical year in the global fight to halt rising temperatures. Courtesy: Office of the UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change

The UAE's Special Envoy for Climate Change, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, at the Regional Climate Dialogue. Courtesy: Office of the UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change

US climate envoy John Kerry is given a helicopter tour of Noor solar park, outside Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Courtesy: Office of the UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change

John Kerry speaks with Dr Sultan Al Jaber at Abu Dhabi's Shams 1 solar park on Saturday. The National

This is John Kerry's first visit to the Middle East since being appointed US climate envoy. The National

Mr Kerry has vowed to make up for the 'lost years' of the Donald Trump presidency and put the US at the forefront of efforts to protect the environment. The National

John Kerry meets Francesco La Camera, director general of International Renewable Energy Agency, which has its global headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The National

US climate envoy John Kerry visits Jubail Mangrove Park. Courtesy Office of the UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change

An aerial image of Abu Dhabi's Noor solar park. Its 3.2 million panels make it the largest single-site solar park in the world. Courtesy: Noor Abu Dhabi

Arrayed panels at Abu Dhabi's Noor solar park. Pawan Singh / The National

Latest: John Kerry in UAE: climate talks get under way in Abu Dhabi

John Kerry visited Abu Dhabi's Noor solar park on Saturday, on the first day of a trip to the Emirates.

The special presidential envoy for climate was given a helicopter tour of the facility, which is the largest single-site solar park in the world.

An image was shared by the office of the UAE special envoy for climate change, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, who accompanied Mr Kerry.

"This project enables the UAE to reach ambitious renewable energy goals," his office wrote.

Mr Kerry was later shown another major solar development, Shams 1, south of Zayed City in Al Dhafra.

On Sunday, Mr Kerry will attend high-level discussions on advancing global action to halt climate change at the GCC and Mena Regional Dialogue For Climate Action in Abu Dhabi.

This is his first visit to the Middle East since being appointed to the role by US President Joe Biden.

Mr Kerry vowed to swiftly make up for America's "lost years" in the fight to protect the environment.

The UAE has ambitious plans to rapidly increase the amount of energy it generates from renewable sources.

At the end of 2020, the country's renewable capacity reached 2.3 gigawatts.

That is forecast to leap to 9 gigawatts by 2025.

Alongside the Noor solar facility, which began generating power in 2019, there are four new projects that will drive this growth.

The biggest is the 2GW Al Dhafra solar scheme in Abu Dhabi, located 50km outside the capital.

That facility is expected to become fully operational in 2022 and would generate enough electricity for about 160,000 homes.

Dubai currently has more than 1gigawatt of installed capacity – all of which comes from three phases at Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park.

Kerry to rally global action on climate

Kerry is leading efforts to get countries to commit themselves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by about the middle of the century.

President Biden has called a summit of 40 leaders including India and China on April 22-23.

Later this year world leaders will gather for the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow to build on a 2015 Paris accord to halt the increase in global temperatures at levels that would avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

"Looking forward to meaningful discussions with friends in the Emirates, India, and Bangladesh on how to tackle the climate crisis," Mr Kerry tweeted before he arrived in Abu Dhabi.

India says it will not only stick to the Paris accord to reduce its carbon footprint by 33-35 per cent from its 2005 levels by 2030, but will likely exceed those goals as it ramps up use of renewable energy.

Abu Dhabi's Noor solar park – in pictures

An aerial image of Noor solar park near Sweihan, Abu Dhabi. The array of 3.2 million panels make it the largest single-site solar site in the world. Courtesy: Noor Abu Dhabi

The plant produces enough electricity to power about 90,000 homes. Pawan Singh / The National

Cleaning dust from the solar panels is crucial to ensuring they work at maximum capacity. Robot cleaners run along the fields of panels throughout the day. Pawan Singh / The National

With the help of the latest technology and robots, a small management team and a daily workforce of about 70 run the huge plant. Pawan Singh / The National

A robot cleaner goes to work on the solar panels. Although the country has an abundance of sun, the panels become covered with dust and lose their effectiveness if not regularly cleaned. Pawan Singh / The National

A herd of camels graze close to Abu Dhabi's Noor solar park. Courtesy: Noor Abu Dhabi

The site is so large it would take hours to cover it on foot. Pawan Singh / The National