Brothers take advantage of solar power upsurge

Dubai: Big governments aren’t the only ones getting into the solar power business these days. Two brothers from Iraq who call Dubai home are also finding ways to turn the UAE’s bounty of sunshine into a business.

Mujahid and Ahmad Salman have started 174 Solar, a small company with five employees that offers everything from solar panels for personal use to rooftop setups to help power the home. You might have already seen and used their products at major events like the Dubai World Cup and the Middle East Film and Comic Con. The two brothers have been setting up free recharging stations, called Street Charge, which are simple poles with solar panels attached that allow anyone attending the event to plug in and power up their smart phones.

Founder and CEO Mujahid, who started the company in 2009, grew up in Canada, studied engineering at school and worked in the automobile business before coming to the region. His brother Ahmed joined about 6 months ago as director ago to help with marketing. The company was set up with five local investors. Mujahid said the company is currently profitable, but declined to provide figures.

With a number of solar power initiatives in the region, the two believe renewable energy is a growing trend, especially in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. “We’re trying to pioneer and trailblazer the way forward,” Mujahid said.

Mujahid was drawn into the solar industry by the idea of finding a way to provide accessible energy following a stint doing volunteer work for the UN.

“We got into the renewable and then we decided to focus on a specific niche segment, which is more retail, more individual household access to energy” he said. So far, the two say they are putting a lot of energy into education.

“Most people when you say solar immediately think utility scale — Masdar for example which is pioneering the industry in the region. They don’t think individual. They don’t think portable. They don’t think accessible,” Mujahid said.

Masdar is a renewable energy company based in Abu Dhabi.

174 Solar currently offers portable products that can charge anything from phones to home appliances. Prices range between Dh200 up to Dh10,000 for a full kit to power a basecamp for 6 people for a week.

Rooftop system, which could be set up to feedback energy into a municipality power grid, start between Dh20,000 and Dh25,000, depending on size.

However, retail is not the companies only focus. The pair would like to see more wholesale business with municipalities, NGOs and telecoms.

Mujahid said there is no reason that publicly available energy, like what his Street Charge product offers, couldn’t be available at bus stations, metro stations, and beaches.

“We trying to see where we fit in, partner with right organisations, whether they’re NGOs are otherwise,” Mujahid said. “There is a lot of work to be done.”

New investments in solar power in the region stood at $2.9 billion in 2012.