Dow Brings Concentrated Solar Power Expertise to Abu Dhabi

Top expert highlights Middle East’s untapped solar energy potential

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirate.- The Dow Chemical Company, a world leader in science and technology, will showcase its Performance Fluid Business, which has expertise in developing high performance fluids for solar projects worldwide, at the ongoing CSP, CPV, Thin Film Solar Summit in Abu Dhabi June 2-3, 2009. Dow expert, Christoph Lang, will participate in this summit and will demonstrate Dow’s global leadership in the Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) industry.

Dow’s Performance Fluid Business has innovative products that help to harness the energy of the sun creating better environmental sustainability. DOWTHERM™ A is a mixture of Diphenyl oxide and Biphenyl that have the high temperature stability needed to harness such energy. The primary role of DOWTHERM™ A is to collect heat energy from the sun and transport it to a power generating station that converts water into steam which in turn drives turbines to make electricity.

The Dow Chemical Company has already or is in the process of supplying enough DOWTHERM™ A globally to generate over 500 megawatts of electricity from the sun. This positions the Dow Performance Fluids Business as the leading supplier of heat transfer fluids in the world for parabolic trough based solar systems.

Speaking at the summit, Christoph Lang, Technical Service & Development Specialist for Heat Transfer Fluids from Dow said, “With year round sunshine, the Middle East region has a tremendous scope for harnessing the multiple benefits of solar energy. With the launch of landmark environment-friendly projects like MASDAR, as well as a plan to raise solar power generation capacity to 1500 MW, Abu Dhabi is fast positioning itself as a hub of solar power capability and expertise.” He further added: “At Dow, we are committed to harnessing the true potential of the sun’s power in order to achieve higher environment sustainability standards. Industry-leading thermal fluid technology, world-scale production and vast supply capabilities are unique assets that make Dow the preferred partner of choice for solar power projects globally.”

Dow’s Performance Fluid Business has been awarded several projects worldwide to supply heat transfer fluids for various solar power projects including the United States and Europe. Recent projects in Spain (announced in April, 2008) will be using over 5000 metric tons of DOWTHERM™ A heat transfer fluids that will eventually generate electricity enough for about 120,000 households. These plants will also prevent the release of about 350,000 tons of carbon dioxide that would have otherwise been released into the atmosphere had traditional fuels been used.

The Dow Chemical Company has demonstrated its commitment and leadership in energy efficiency all over the world. Over the last 14 years, Dow efforts to save energy globally have resulted in the saving of more than 1,600 trillion BTU’s of energy and prevented the release of about 86 million metric tons of carbon dioxide that would have been released without the company’s efforts to save power.

About Dow Performance Fluids

DOWTHERM™ Synthetic Organic Fluids Offer Excellent Stability: Each of our seven DOWTHERM™ Synthetic Organic Fluids offers exceptional thermal stability. This stability can translate into more efficient heat transfer, longer fluid life, and optimum operating economics. For example, DOWTHERM™ A Fluid has set the industry standard for over 70 years - precisely because of its excellent thermal stability in applications up to 400°C (750°F). SYLTHERM† Silicone Fluids Are Long-lasting, Odorless Options SYLTHERM† 800, SYLTHERM XLT†, and SYLTHERM HF Silicone Fluids are low viscosity fluids that offer excellent heat transfer performance and can provide exceptionally long service life (often more than 10 years) without periodic reclaiming. In addition, SYLTHERM 800 Fluid has the broadest operating range of any heat transfer fluid. For more information visit www.dowtherm.com.