Dubai: Owners of electric vehicles will be able to charge their cars for free at the Dubai Silicon Oasis charging stations throughout 2017, it was announced.
Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA), the regulatory body for Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), the integrated free zone technology park, announced the launch of its new initiative that allows electric vehicle owners to use the charging stations on its premises free of charge from Wednesday until the end of the year.
As part of its aim to encourage people to purchase or rent zero-emission electric cars, DSOA granted free usage of the charging stations to the general public. The stations will be open around the clock, seven days a week, it was announced.
The initiative follows a series of projects implemented by the authority in line with Dubai Clean Energy Strategy that promotes energy efficiency while reducing operational costs with the ultimate objective of shaping Dubai into a city with the smallest carbon footprint in the world by 2050.
Muammar Al Katheeri, Executive Vice President of Engineering and Smart City at DSOA, said they are keen to support the vision of the leadership to transform Dubai into a sustainable and environment-friendly city by reducing carbon emissions.
“A pillar of our business model, sustainability allows us to contribute to strengthening the emirate’s position as a leading global example for achieving the highest standards in environment conservation,” he said.
“DSOA will continue to develop environment-friendly programs and initiatives in order to raise awareness about the concept of sustainability among the public,” he added.
Dubai Silicon Oasis currently has three electric vehicle charging stations installed on its premises, each of which can charge up to two vehicles at once. Aiming to increase the count to seven by 2018, DSOA also continues to implement Green Charger, an electric vehicle charging station infrastructure initiative launched by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA).
In addition, the authority recently introduced four electric vehicles used by on-ground security patrols and the attending facilities management units within Dubai Silicon Oasis. DSOA also recently received two Golf GTE plug-in hybrid models from Al Nabooda Automobiles, the official distributor of Volkswagen in Dubai and the Northern Emirates for use by Engineering Management and Smart City team within DSO.
