14 June 2006 - The Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority is to set up a solar energy trial in the emirate.

The project, which will last for at least a year, will get underway in a few weeks time and solar panels will be placed on a car park canopy and benches at various locations in the capital. The electricity generated will be fed into the city's power grid.

The authority is collaborating with the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and hopes to produce a demonstration system in less than a year.

Electricity generated through solar panels will be used to supplement the power grid at peak times.

"The potential for using solar power is large because there is plenty of sun. It is a fact that excess heat reduces the efficiency of the panels by about one per cent, so we need to beware of the excess heat and how it affects the different means of harvesting and their maintenance, said Mufeed Odeh, Research Centre manager at Adwea.