Two weeks ahead of the MENASOL
conference in Dubai, we take a look at some of the latest developments in the
UAE’s PV marketplace.
 |
In Abu Dhabi, a small pilot project that completed
four months ago is experimenting the use
of solar
PV for underground water extraction. The station
was built in Al Hamraniya settlement in Ras
Al Khaimah
by the Ministry of Energy, in cooperation
with the
Ministry of Environment and Water, and the
Federal
Electricity and Water Authority. Around
9kW of PV
panels covering an area of 60m2, were
installed to
pump
72 metre-deep well, with the objective of encouraging
farmers to adopt the technology in their farms
to reduce
costs of irrigation.
|
The
United Arab Emirates (UAE) is still
leading the GCC region in utility-scale PV installations. Earlier this month,
Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) launched the tender for the
second stage of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park – a 100 MW
independent PV power project for which expressions of interest were invited by
April 24, 2014.
According
to international law firm Eversheds, DEWA will retain a 51% controlling stake
in the new project company with the winning party of the tender process to own
49%. The solar park’s first project was launched in October 2013 with the
connection of its inaugural 13MW PV plant, developed by First Solar.
The
new project is expected to begin operations by summer of 2017 – by which DEWA
would have built 13 percent of the 1 GW planned solar park.
Small-scale
PV
Solar
PV is also finding its way into small-scale applications throughout the UAE. One
of the oldest parks in Dubai, the Satwa Reservoir Park – also known as Al
Khazzan Park – is currently being reconstructed to integrate solar PV. The park
was built in the 1980s but was demolished a few years ago.
According
to the Dubai Municipality, 20 percent of the project has already been
completed. Once operational by the end of this year, the park will rely
entirely on solar without using the public grid, to provide electricity for the
building, automatic irrigation systems, and to operate the park’s lighting in
the evening.
“The
park will be exclusively powered by solar energy through an area of more than 450 m² of PV panels,”
municipal official said. With the exception of the existing water tank,
everything else will be rebuilt and solar powered, including the viewing deck
and picnic areas.
In
Abu Dhabi, a small pilot project that completed four months ago is
experimenting the use of solar PV for underground water extraction. The station
was built in Al Hamraniya settlement in Ras Al Khaimah by the Ministry of
Energy, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Water, and the
Federal Electricity and Water Authority.
Around
9kW of PV panels covering an area of 60m2 were installed to pump 7.5 cubic metres
of water per hour from a 72 metre-deep well, with the objective of encouraging
farmers to adopt the technology in their farms to reduce costs of irrigation.
Even
DEWA is experimenting with small-scale PV to test and evaluate the performance
of the technology under local weather conditions. Last year, it commissioned a
695kWp grid-tied PV system at its LEED platinum rated building; a 7.5kWp
grid-connected PV system at its head office in Dubai, and another 10kW rooftop
system at its Jebel Ali power complex.
The rollout of ESCO
Meanwhile,
a significant milestone was made for the building-integrated PV industry with
DEWA’s launch of the Energy Services Companies (ESCO) regulatory framework last
February.
The accreditation scheme, titled Etihad ESCO, is now open to building
owners who want to make savings, as well as energy service companies who want
to get accredited and participate more easily in DEWA’s ESCO tenders.
“Typical
savings that we can obtain in Dubai buildings vary between 20% and 50% on the
costs for energy. This will depend on the age of the equipment, state of the
buildings and ways the maintenance was performed,” Etihad ESCO states on its website.
Product
and equipment suppliers can also get involved by promoting their solutions to
the ESCOs, while banks and financial institutions have the option of financing
the projects that DEWA tenders to ESCOs.
“I
am pleased to see the response to the ESCO accreditation scheme launched
earlier this year,” Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Supreme
Council of Energy, said in a statement.
“At
the time of its launch, I highlighted the importance of regulatory frameworks
that reflect the commitment of the Government of Dubai and Dubai Supreme
Council of Energy to promoting the leadership and competitiveness of Dubai at a
global level, as well as encouraging and supporting partnerships with the
private sector to create new business and investment opportunities.”
Etihad
ESCO promises to handle all the activities for companies as a turnkey service,
and is even willing to finance the works to help them save their capital budget
for core activities. In addition, the DEWA entity will evaluate the performance
of the companies’ buildings, organise their competitive tendering, select the
best ESCO contractor, and manage and guarantee the results so that savings can
materialise.
Regional
offices
In
light of these new regulatory developments and project announcements, the UAE
is becoming a magnet for global PV manufacturers. Solon, for example, a German
solar module producer, recently said it was closing its plant in Berlin and
relocating its headquarters to Fujairah, one of the UAE’s seven emirates, where
it already has a manufacturing capacity of 300 MW through the Solon Microsol
facility.
KACO
new energy GmbH – a German inverter manufacturer – has also opened a regional
sales office in Dubai, while AmericanPV and CSP developer SolarReserve opened
its first regional office in Dubai in January this year.
On
a domestic level, more local companies are emerging in the PV domain, such as
the Abu Dhabi-based Abreej Solar Energy, a small company supplying solar water
pumps and PV panels, which was established with the support of Khalifa Fund.
Industry
associations too are getting involved. The Korean Association of Machinery
Industry (KOAMU) and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) both signed
agreements with DEWA this month to exchange information on smart grids and
renewable energy, among many other areas.
Dubai’s
energy strategy seeks to diversify the emirate’s electricity generation mix to
include 5% renewable energy by 2030. However, renewable sources, mainly solar
power, will be subject to regulation by the Regulation and Supervisory Bureau
(RSB), and when connected to the DEWA network they will have to meet technical
standards and connection requirements that have been set out in the Renewables Standards.
“The
application for rooftop solar is possible today, you go to the DEWA website and
there’s a procedure in place that will guide you through the process,” notes
Marco Christiaan Janssen, Smart Grid Specialist at DEWA.
As
far as rates, feed-in-tariffs and regulations are concerned, that is currently
under development, he says. “We’re working together with Dubai Municipality -
there are a few steps that we still have to take. It will take a few more
months to be finalised.”
06/05/2014
- 07/05/2014, Dubai
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