Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has launched a new project under its Shams Dubai initiative for installation of solar carports at its headquarters, and the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment building.

This is part of Dewa's efforts to increase reliance on clean energy, and support Dubai's smart transformation, in line with its vision to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility, said a statement from the Dubai utility.

Dewa is currently working on this project, which aims to generate electricity, using photovoltaic (PV) panels, connected to Dewa’s network, in the parking lots at the two sites, with a total of 902 parking spaces.

The Dewa parking lot will have a capacity of 1,780 kilowatts (KW), and 220KW in the Ministry building, with a total of approximately 2,000KW in both locations, generating a total of 2,750 MWp, equivalent to reducing about 1,500 tonnes of carbon emissions annually, it stated.

"The Solar Carports project at our headquarters and the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, is part of our efforts to encourage the public to benefit from Shams Dubai," remarked Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the managing director and chief executive of Dewa.

"Through the project, we intend to provide comfort and enhance the happiness of our stakeholders, to fulfil our mission, in line with our core values, as well as promote the initiative among all stakeholders, both individuals and institutions, in the public and private sectors," he noted.

Al Tayer pointed out that this will happen by providing practical examples of green and sustainable buildings, to spread a culture of sustainability, reduce energy consumption, and dependence on traditional energy sources, and help Dubai’s government organisations achieve the goal set by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE) to reduce 20 per cent of the energy consumption in all government buildings, by 2020.

"The reduction of the carbon footprint, in Dubai and the UAE, is a national duty, and we must cooperate to protect the environment, and to preserve our natural resources," he added.

According to him, Dewa has completed linking its network with 450 residential and commercial buildings, with a total capacity of about 17.7MW, through Shams Dubai.

The utility is now working to increase this number to reach all buildings across the emirate by 2030.

Waleed Salman, the executive VP (Business Development and Excellence) at Dewa said: "The Solar Carports and other such projects under Shams Dubai, highlight Dewa’s commitment to provide ease for all stakeholders, and encourage government buildings to use clean energy and transform into sustainable buildings."

"We aim to spread the experience to a large number of public and private buildings in Dubai, supporting national efforts to reduce carbon footprint and increase the proportion of solar energy in the environment-friendly energy mix in Dubai," he added.-TradeArabia News Service