WAM Rio De Janeiro-Brazil/Abu Dhabi, Jun 20th, 2012 (WAM)--Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, the Abu Dhabi-headquartered International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and other collaboration partners today jointly announced the official commissioning of the UAE Solar Atlas. The beta version of the Atlas was released earlier in April 2012.

The data on solar energy will be freely available online from early 2013 and can be accessed by government organizations or private enterprises for assessing the technical feasibility of any proposed renewable energy project. The data would also be fed into IRENA's global geo-referenced renewable energy (RE) potentials database.

The announcement was made on the sidelines of the Rio+20 Earth Summit 2012 that is being held from 20-22 June in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Six days of open-ended informal intercessional were also held in the build-up to the Summit, including the third and final Preparatory Meeting.

A delegation from Masdar Institute is actively participating in the summit as part of the overall Masdar initiative. Masdar Institute is part of the UAE Pavilion that also hosts Masdar and other Mubadala entities. The Solar Atlas is prominently displayed for the benefit of the visitors and stakeholders.

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Special Envoy for Energy '&' Climate Change, United Arab Emirates, and CEO of Masdar, said: "The official launch of the UAE Solar Atlas comes at a time when investment in solar energy is witnessing an uptrend. This multi-stakeholder initiative will immensely help investors to assess risks and commercial viability before implementing new solar energy projects. Masdar is proud to be part of this project that will provide further momentum to greater adoption of clean energy sources." Adnan Amin, Director-General of IRENA, said: "The official release of the UAE Solar Atlas at the Rio Summit signifies the remarkable commitment of the global partner organizations in bringing clean energy closer to the community. This Internet-based platform is designed to raise awareness of technology opportunities and serve as a repository for high quality renewable energy resource data, offering an avenue for those seeking to choose the solar energy route as part of their energy mix." Dr Fred Moavenzadeh, President, Masdar Institute, said "The commissioning of the Solar Atlas ensures renewable energy markets regularly receive reliable and stable data on the annual solar irradiance. Such data can prove extremely valuable for deploying various technologies including roof or land area for photovoltaic cells. The MENA region offers abundant potential for tapping solar energy and we believe the UAE Solar Atlas, supported by the country's leadership, will encourage other countries in the region to implement renewable energy projects in this part of the world." --MORE-- WAM/MN