Emirates Engine Maintenance Centre successfully completes 1 Megawatt solar photovoltaic project

Saturday 13 February 2016

Dubai - MENA Herald: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) in conjunction with Emirates Airline, has successfully installed solar photovoltaic panels at the Emirates Engine Maintenance Centre in Dubai. The project is part of the Shams Dubai initiative launched by DEWA earlier this year in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to implement a long-term national Green Economy for Sustainable Development initiative to build a green economy in the UAE, and the UAE Vision 2021 to make the UAE one of the best countries in the world by 2021.
The new project in Warsan will generate 1 Megawatt (MW), saving around 800 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. The project aims to enhance the use of alternative energy and reduce carbon emissions. The newly-installed system includes 2,990 photovoltaic panels and will use solar power to generate electricity and meet the needs of the centre.
The panels were installed on the rooftop of the Emirates Engine Maintenance Centre’s car park. Based on its capacity of 1MW, the panels are expected to generate in excess of 1,884 Megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity every year.
“In accordance with the wise leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Dubai gives priority to environmental sustainability and the happiness of its citizens, residents and visitors, while striving to provide a healthy environment for the public, in line with the Dubai Plan 2021, which aims to make Dubai a smart, integrated, connected city that is clean, healthy, and sustainable. In DEWA, we work to diversify the energy mix to include clean and renewable energy,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.
“We are pleased to be working with Emirates Airline on this initiative, which saw the installation of photovoltaic panels at the Emirates Engine Maintenance Centre. The project is part of DEWA’s Shams Dubai initiative. This reflects the cooperation between different organisations in Dubai and their intensive efforts to enhance Dubai’s reputation in sustainability and to preserve a sustainable environment that supports economic growth. Shams Dubai is an excellent economic choice for clients and government organisations because solar energy is clean, natural, cost effective, and unlimited. In the last few years, we have seen huge developments in solar technology,” he added.
“DEWA’s partnership with Emirates Airline is part of DEWA’s efforts to install photovoltaic panels on government buildings and schools, to produce clean energy locally, reduce electricity costs, contribute to the preservation of the environment, and guarantee a sustainable future for the Emirate,” said Waleed Salman, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at DEWA.
“At Emirates, we are committed to building a sustainable future. We are proud to support this national initiative and work with DEWA on the Shams Dubai project. In addition to the successful installation of solar photovoltaic panels at Emirates Engine Maintenance Centre in Dubai, across our company we have many active programmes to reduce our emissions and environmental impact, as outlined in our annual Environmental Report. Within the Emirates Engine Maintenance Centre, we intend to continue improving our environmental efficiency. We already have ongoing recycling programmes in place, and we plan to go paperless in the near future,” said Adel Al Redha, Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Emirates Airline.
DEWA launched the Shams Dubai initiative as part of its efforts to support the Smart Dubai initiative of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, which aims to transform Dubai into the smartest city in the world. The main drivers for the initiative are to encourage the use of renewable energy in Dubai by educating and introducing customers to it. This will increase the share of electricity generated from renewable sources resulting in diversification of the energy mix, in line with the goals of Dubai government. It aims to encourage tenants and building owners alike, to install photovoltaic solar panels to generate electricity. In addition to meeting the power needs of the building, any surplus electricity generated will be exported to DEWA’s grid. Any offset between the exported and imported electricity units is conducted at the end of the month, and the customer account is settled based on this offset.

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