Dubai Airports, Etihad ESCO launch Middle East's largest solar energy system at DXB

UAE –  Dubai Airports and Etihad Energy Services Company (Etihad ESCO) on Monday announced the installation of the largest solar energy system in the Middle East at Dubai International’s Terminal 2.

The solar energy system comprises 15,000 photovoltaic panels with a capacity of 5 megawatts per panel, according to a press release.

The project is set to generate 7.483 million kilowatt hour (kWh) energy annually for Dubai Airports, which will save around AED 3.3 million.

Moreover, it will cut the existing load at Terminal 2 by about 29%, while also diminishing annual carbon dioxide emissions by 3,243 metric tonnes, the two companies revealed.

Once completed, Etihad ESCO will provide maintenance services for Dubai Airports for a seven-year period.

This comes as part of Shams Dubai, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (DEWA) first smart initiative aiming to promote the use of clean renewable energy sources.

Michael Ibbitson, executive vice president, infrastructure and technology at Dubai Airports, said: “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.”

In turn, Ali Al Jassim, CEO of Etihad ESCO, said: “Etihad ESCO aims to retrofit 30,000 buildings by 2030 and is currently preparing to implement AED 400 million worth of projects, expanding beyond building retrofits to include industrial retrofits and solar projects.”

Earlier this month, Dubai Airports announced it had launched a high-tech system, ‘realtimeDXB’, to monitor operations in real-time at Dubai International (DXB).