The first solar-powered and environmentally friendly park has been launched by Dubai Municipality.

In line with Dubai's vision for 2020 to reduce energy consumption by 30 per cent, Dubai Municipality completed its first trial to operate environmentally friendly parks. The parks, which will operate independently from the water and electricity authority, will generate energy from the sun with the use of solar panels.

Engineer Mohammad Mashroom, Director of General Projects Department, said that the idea was brought forward through an initiative the general projects department adopted when constructing self-generating parks. The team responsible for this project completed the design stage and executed the plans for these parks without resorting to external expertise.

Al Khazzan Park is the first park of its kind in the area that operates 100 per cent through solar energy. Mashroom added that a team has been delegated internally to focus on creating environmentally friendly parks. The first phase of the project in Al Khazzan park shed light on some challenges that need to be taken into consideration.

Among the challenges faced throughout the implementation phase was finding a space large enough to accommodate the solar panels. Also, panels needed to be placed in areas that are always exposed to direct sunlight all year long. Tests were carried out in the park to discover the areas that do not fall under shadow throughout the year in order to install the solar panels.

Mashroom clarified that the same standards set for constructing green buildings were applied for the project at hand which is the reason behind its success.
Source: Gulf News