Spanning 8 square kilometers with 3.2 million solar panels, the world’s largest independent solar plant recently began operation in the Emirates.

Named Noor Abu Dhabi, the solar plant is located in Sweihan, Abu Dhabi. With a record-setting capacity of 1,177MW, the plant is a joint-venture between the Abu Dhabi Power Corporation, China’s Jinko Solar Holding and Japan’s Marubeni Corporation.

“The completion of the project marks a significant milestone in the UAE’s Energy Strategy 2050, launched in 2017, to increase the contribution of clean energy in the total energy mix to 50 percent by 2050 while reducing the carbon footprint of power generation by 70 percent,” says Mohammad Hassan Al Suwaidi, Chairman of EWEC. “This is in line with the sector’s transformation strategy by providing alternative sources of energy that can help us improve the sustainability of the water and electricity sector.”

The plant will reduce Abu Dhabi’s carbon emission by 1 million metric tons of CO2 per year – which is equivalent to the carbon dioxide produced by 200,000 cars. In addition to setting a record for size and generation, the Noor Abu Dhabi plant also holds the record for the world’s most-competitive tariff, at just 8.888 fils per KW/hour.