Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has called upon Dubai’s citizens and residents to benefit from the Shams Dubai smart initiative, following the outstanding success and the great adoption rate the initiative has achieved since its launch.

Under the Shams Dubai scheme, residents can 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 Dewa.

This is part of Dewa’s effort to promote Dubai’s sustainable and comprehensive development, and support national efforts to increase reliance on clean energy, protect the environment and our natural resources sustainably, and support further transformation towards a green economy, it added.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the managing director and chief executive of Dewa, said: "Shams Dubai gives Dubai’s 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."

Dewa, he stated, has outlined easy steps to install photovoltaic systems on buildings to generate solar power as part of the Shams Dubai initiative.

"The installation process starts with the customer contacting one of the solar consultants or contractors accredited by Dewa to study the possibility of installing the solar power system and suggesting the best solution," said Al Tayer.  

"The consultant or contractor then obtains the necessary approvals from Dewa. These include an NOC for installing solar power and connecting it to the power network, and approval that its design meets all requirements," he  explained.

"After obtaining the necessary approvals, site works are undertaken, and once the installation is complete the contractor or consultant submits a notification to Dewa to conduct the technical inspection of the site and install the required smart meters to complete the connection process," he added.

Al Tayer praised the efforts of institutions and individuals who have participated in the Shams Dubai initiative and have already installed photovoltaic panels on 1032 buildings with a total capacity of 43.77 megawatts (MW).

This will increase in the future to eventually cover all buildings in Dubai by 2030, he stated.

Al Tayer said the novel initiative allows customers to 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," he added.

According to him, Shams Dubai had been instrumental to the development of the flourishing solar industry in Dubai, and supports the long-term Green Economy for Sustainable Development initiative, 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, and namely to its sustainable environment and infrastructure objectives, through the improvement of air quality and increasing the share of clean energy," he added.-TradeArabia News Service