Etihad Esco, an energy retrofit entity, recently executed a lighting retrofit project at the Dewa power stations in Jebel Ali and Al Awir, replacing 8,500 light fixtures with LEDs, resulting in 75 per cent savings in electricity usage.

The energy savings are coming from high efficiency LED lights by Philips Lighting that replaced old indoor, outdoor and streets lights in Jebel Ali and Al Awir Power Stations. Through this ESCO project, Dewa will witness 6,286 tonnes of CO2 reduction.

Using commercial electricity rates, the project generates an annual savings of Dh6.6 million ($1.8 million) with no maintenance costs on Dewa on lighting for the contractual six years. Dewa’s initial investment of Dh21 million will be recompensed through the guaranteed savings in less than 3.5 years.

Stephane le Gentil, CEO – Etihad ESCO said: “We are pleased to announce the successful completion of our first ESCO project with Philips Lighting for the Dewa Power Stations. This pioneering project in Dubai demonstrates the viability and efficiency of the LED technology in achieving energy savings while ensuring better light quality.”

Through previously undertaken audits, Etihad ESCO identified that the lighting infrastructure at Dewa Power Stations were aging and a significant improvement could be implemented to reduce energy consumption.

Alfonso D’andretta, head of Systems Center Dubai at Philips Lighting said: “Lighting today accounts for 19 per cent of the world’s total electricity consumption, whereas this number is 22 per cent in our region. Importance of energy efficient LED lighting solutions is getting more crucial every day for a more sustainable standard of living.”

“The better quality light fixtures will benefit the Dewa employees working on site at night and result in better safety and comfort conditions, but the biggest impact will be a large reduction in the energy consumption while reducing the maintenance budget for lighting to zero,” added Stephane le Gentil. – TradeArabia News Service