Solar Energy in Dubai: Sun is our Limit

"Following immense natural resources consumption on Earth, mankind has finally set a new ambitious goal to get his energy needs through renewable resources. This idea seemed difficult several decades ago, but it has formed a framework for an integrated industrial sector driven by the needs of survival and preserving a secure future for generations to come," Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA, said in an article.

He added, 'The sun stood out as an ideal replacement for fossil fuels resources. These two energy resources emerge in completely different directions, where the more demand for fossil fuels, the higher the price, whilst the more demand for solar energy the cheaper the cost. I believe this is will be visionary smart investment in the long run. Today, mankind has overcome the technical challenges to fulfill energy requirements through renewable energy resource. The emerging promising strategies now rely not on earth’s resources but on that of the sun. Once again, the Middle East stood out within the globe’s new energy district – The Sun. Despite the difficulty of shifting reliance from oil to solar energy, the region is still within the ‘belts’ of both oil and sun."

He continued, "The UAE, like it has always been, was one of the firsts to come up with initiatives thanks to the vision of its leaders. The country put huge investments in solar energy, and supported these investments with a series of fully-fledged initiatives. These efforts were crowned by Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launch of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to provide 75 per cent of the Emirate’s energy from clean energy by 2050. Dubai and the UAE’s location within the Sunbelt increases the success chances to have significant reliance on renewable energy in the UAE."

Al Tayer also indicated The UAE, under the directives of our government, has taken an early start to bid farewell to the last drop of oil. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) took the responsibility to contribute to this promising goal by announcing The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site strategic renewable energy project of its kind in the world, is based on the IPP model. The 13MW first phase became operational in 2013. The 200MW second phase of the Solar Park will be operational by 2017, and its capacity will reach 1,000 MW by 2020 and 5,000 MW by 2030. The project will help achieve a reduction of approximately 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually, supporting Dubai Government’s green initiatives and programmes. The Solar Park includes a Research and Development Centre to conduct studies on industrial and social needs, and scientific research in renewable energy. It also has two test technologies for photovoltaic panels and for concentrated solar power.

He noted that under the directives of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, DEWA leads ambitious initiatives to increase dependability on solar power. These initiatives include Shams Dubai, to install solar panel
Source :WAM