Dubai Airports and Etihad ESCO complete Terminal 2 solar system installation
The project is part of Shams Dubai, DEWA’s first smart initiative promoting the use of clean, renewable sources of energy
Dubai Airports (DXB) and Etihad Energy Services Company (Etihad ESCO) have completed the installation of 15,000 photovoltaic panels at Terminal 2. The installation is said to be the largest of any airport in the region.
The solar system has a capacity of 5MWp and is expected to generate 7,483,500kWh energy annually for the airport. The airport is expected to save as much as $898,296 in electricity costs per year and will reduce the existing Terminal 2 load by 29%.
Annual CO2 emissions will also be reduced by 3,243 metric tonnes, the equivalent of 53,617 tree seedlings grown for 10 years or 688 passenger vehicles driven for one year, DEWA said in a statement.
“Dubai Airports has undertaken a variety of green initiatives over the past several years to limit our carbon footprint and support Dubai’s goal for a 30% reduction in the city’s energy consumption by 2030. These include the use of energy efficient fittings, the optimisation of cooling systems, the installation of energy efficient LED bulbs and many others,” said Michael Ibbitson, executive VP, Infrastructure and Technology of Dubai Airports.
The project is part of Shams Dubai, which encourages the installation of solar panels on rooftops to generate electricity from solar power and transfer surplus energy to DEWA’s grid. As per the deal, Etihad ESCO will provide maintenance services for Dubai Airports for a period of seven years from completion.
“Our partnership with Dubai Airports for the installation of photovoltaic solar panels gives us an opportunity to play a role in Dubai Airports’ vision for energy efficiency and development. Furthermore, this also marks an extension of an existing partnership between Dubai Airports and Etihad ESCO, which goes back to October 2017 when we signed an agreement for the retrofitting of DXB’s Terminals 1, 2 and 3 to enhance energy efficiency and cut down water and electricity consumption by 20 per cent,” said Ali Al Jassim, CEO of Etihad ESCO.
