Four hundred and thirty five buildings in Dubai have already installed photovoltaic panels on their roofs and generated a total capacity of 15.6 megawatts(MW) of power since the Shams Dubai initiative was launched in 2015. This is brisk progress and as initiatives go, Shams Dubai has set the bar high for its innovativeness and inclusivity. By encouraging all sections of society to become shareholders in generating solar energy, thus supporting the government’s Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, Dubai has set into motion the most productive collaboration between people and policies. Every individual and every corporate entity, small, medium or big, is being encouraged to harness solar energy, cut down on their individual energy consumption bills, and if producing surplus, export it to the Dubai Water and Electricity Authority (Dewa) to enjoy a commensurate deduction in their bill. And all along, they they will be plugged into the Dewa grid. It’s the kind of return on investment model that guarantees a win-win outcome.
The boost in the clean energy mix that Dubai is seeking in incremental leaps from 2020 to 2030 to 2050, by when it hopes to generate 75 per cent of its total power output through clean sources, will find its momentum in precisely these kinds of programmes because, any positive change that powers the progress of a nation finds its top speed in collective will.
As the need for societies to pursue clean energy as the no-alternative plan becomes more critical by the year, Dubai, with its charateristic foresight, has already set the pace with Shams Dubai, an integral aspect of Smart Dubai. And it’s heartening to see how it is empowering its people along on this journey to a sustainable future.
