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

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, said a statement from the Dubai utility.

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, the managing director & CEO, 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," stated Al Tayer.

"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," said the top official.

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, he added.

According Al Tayer, 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," he added.-TradeArabia News Service