- The 22-year lease agreement announced on Tuesday will see UAE-based SirajPower initially deliver 15MW-worth of panels to Jafza
- The deal forms part of DP World’s solar program which aims to ramp up use of sustainable and environmentally friendly energy sources across its facilities
LONDON: Global ports operator DP World has signed a deal with UAE-based SirajPower to install solar roof panels at its facilities in the Jebel Ali Freezone (Jafza) and National Industries Park as part the company’s efforts to reduce its energy consumption and cut costs.
The 22-year lease agreement announced on Tuesday will see UAE-based SirajPower initially deliver 15MW-worth of panels to Jafza.
The deal forms part of DP World’s solar program which aims to ramp up use of sustainable and environmentally friendly energy sources across its facilities. It follows the launch of the UAE’s first green storage and warehouse facilities at Jafza in June this year, with some cool storage facilities now entirely run on solar energy while other warehouses are becoming more energy efficient.
In late 2016, DP World announced the start of the construction of the largest solar rooftop project in the Middle East, with the commissioning of 88,000 rooftop solar panels across its Dubai facilities.
“Creating a sustainable business model through the implementation of green technologies is a core focus for DP World, and one of our key initiatives is our ground-breaking solar power program that will generate enough energy to power 4,600 homes on completion,” said Mohammed Al-Muallem, CEO and managing director, DP World, UAE region.
DP World has reduced its CO2 emissions intensity by 24 percent since 2008, Muallem added, in a statement on Tuesday.
SirajPower hopes the DP World deal as a springboard for regional growth, said Laurent Longuet, the company’s CEO.
“We witnessed a rapid growth in only three years and our plan now is to expand our offering to other emirates and countries in the GCC, as well as making a foray into the residential market to truly become the regional green champion,” he said.
SirajPower said it would open a branch in Jafza to support the installation of the new units. Construction is expected to take 18 months, the company said.
In 2015, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) launched the Shams Dubai solar initiative aimed at encouraging individuals and businesses to install PV panels to generate electricity and connect them to the Dewa network. The program supports government targets for Dubai to generate 25 percent of its energy needs from solar by 2030.
SirajPower has won contracts for 50MW-worth of the solar rooftop projects implemented under the Shams program to date.