The World’s Largest Concentrated Solar Power Plant Soaks Up the Sun in Abu Dhabi: EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS

<a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/shams-1/">Shams 1, the world's largest single unit Concentrated Solar Power plant</a>, is expected to come online within the first quarter of 2013 and we have exclusive images of the facilities. Snapped up on a recent tour sponsored by Masdar, these images depict a 100 MW parabolic trough plant that received funding from the United Nations under the <a href="http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/mechanisms/clean_development_mechanism/items/2718.php">Clean Development Mechanism</a> (CDM). A partnership project between <a href="http://inhabitat.com/index.php?s=abengoa">Abengoa Solar</a>, Total and Masdar, Shams 1 is expected to reduce carbon emissions in Abu Dhabi by 175,000 tons per year, which is equivalent to taking 15,000 cars off the road.

Shams Power Company Process Engineer Abdulaziz Al Obaidli, Masdar Clean Energy Director Bader Saeed Al Lamki, and Shams Power Company General Manager Yousif Al Ali

These parabolic mirrors are on a tracking system that follow the sun's progress through the sky

Tubes containing a synthetic oil heat transfer fluid are heated by the sun

Close up of the parabolic trough mirrors

We visited Shams 1 as part of a VIP media tour sponsored by Masdar

The plant is located in the western region of the UAE, about 120km southwest of Abu Dhabi

The Shams management team poses again!

The largest single unit CSP plant in the world, Shams 1 received funding under the UN's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)

The fluid is used to boil water that creates steam and powers a conventional steam turbine to generate energy

The 100MW plant is expected to take the equivalent of 15,000 cars off the road

This is where the water is air-cooled

Overlooking the Shams 1 solar plant

These brushes are used to clean the mirrors to maximize their efficiency