Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, DEWA, has connected 453 photovoltaic, PV, installations on the roofs of residential, commercial and industrial buildings in Dubai, with a total capacity of about 18.7 MW.

This was carried out under the ‘Shams Dubai’ initiative launched by DEWA to encourage customers to install solar photovoltaic panels on the roofs of their premises to generate electricity from solar power and export any excess to the power grid.

The numbers are expected to increase in the future to eventually cover all buildings in the emirate by 2030.

Commenting on the initiative, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, said, "Shams Dubai gives its residents the opportunity to transform their buildings into sustainable ones, reduce the emirate’s carbon footprint, and increase the proportion of solar power in Dubai's environmentally friendly energy mix. Through this initiative, community members will promote sustainable development in Dubai and transform the emirate into a global hub for clean energy and green economy, and support the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, launched by UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to generate 7 percent of Dubai's total power output from clean energy by 2020, 25 percent by 2030 and 75 percent by 2050. This will also support the Smart Dubai initiative launched by His Highness to make Dubai the smartest and happiest city in the world.

"Shams Dubai helps customers avoid using very expensive power storage systems by connecting the photovoltaic panels to the network. Furthermore, the surplus power will be exported to DEWA’s grid, which will be deducted from the customers' future bill. Apart from providing those direct benefits to electricity customers, and increasing the value of buildings where solar photovoltaic systems are installed, Shams Dubai establishes a sustainable model for providing clean energy and supporting Dubai’s economy without harming the environment and natural resources.

"This is aligned with the long-term ‘Green Economy for Sustainable Development’ initiative, launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, to build a green economy in the UAE. Moreover, Shams Dubai contributes to the UAE Vision 2021, to make the UAE one of the best countries in the world by 2021, by its sustainable environment and infrastructure objectives, through the improvement of air quality and increasing the share of clean energy, in addition to Dubai Plan 2021 to make Dubai a smart and sustainable city.

"The first customers’ solar photovoltaic systems connected to DEWA’s grid, under Shams Dubai initiative, was the rooftop of the employees’ building at Dubai World Central - Al Maktoum International Airport, with a capacity of 30 kilowatts at peak load, kWp. After that, a number of ambitious projects were completed, including the 1 megawatt at peak load, MWp, carport installation at Emirates Engine Maintenance Centre in Warsan, a number of Dubai Municipality buildings, including the 260kWp carport at Al Qusais Park, the 1,210kWp installation at the Engineer’s Office’s water pumping station at Al Qudra, the 126kWp canopy at ENOC petrol station near Dubai Internet City, and 353 villas at the Sustainable City as of 31st August, 2017," Al Tayer added.