Dubai: When Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) celebrates its 60th birthday in 2019, the public utility will gift itself a new fully solar-powered headquarters, officials said on Tuesday.
Once completed, it is expected to be the largest and tallest "net-zero" energy building in the world.
Energy consumption in net-zero energy buildings is equivalent to the amount of renewable energy it produces on site on an annual basis.
Dewa’s new headquarters, Al Sheraa (Arabic for “The Sail”), was exhibited during the first Dubai Solar Show, which is part of the Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (Wetex) 2016 that opened on Tuesday.
Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, inaugurated both shows along with Saeed Mohammad Al Tayer, Dewa managing director and CEO, and founder and chairman of Wetex.
Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, also attended the opening ceremony, along with other senior government officials.
Energy efficiency drive
Al Tayer said the Dubai Solar Show, the largest event of its kind in the region with 90 exhibitors, is in line with the vision of the UAE leadership to enhance Dubai’s position to achieve the highest standards in energy efficiency.
“The Dubai Solar Show represents an ideal platform to develop the solar energy industry locally and internationally, in line with the directives of the leadership and as part of Dewa’s efforts to take advantage of the latest innovations reached by pioneers of solar technologies in the UAE and the world, and to review the preparedness of the solar energy sector to cater to the development and growth,” Al Tayer said.
Al Sheraa, which will be built in Al Jadaf, will have six storeys on one side and 70 storeys on the other side. It is touted as a cultural symbol in the UAE for its seafaring heritage.
“What forced the design is actually the energy, solar energy — the inclination of the “sail” is at 25 degrees which made it the most efficient part of the building,” Abdullah Obaidullah, Dewa executive vice-president (Water and Civil), told Gulf News.
The “Sail”, which holds 16,500 square metres of solar panels, acts as a shading source for the building. It faces the south-southwest direction to maximise harvested solar energy. natural light during the day will stream through special opening in the sail, illuminating offices and giving sufficient light without the associated heat.
The building will generate renewable energy amounting to more than 7,000 mWh annually. The building is highly energy efficient as it will be designed to have an Energy Utilisation Intensity of 70 kWh/sq m per year, which is five times less than normal buildings.
The new headquarters is three times larger than the Dewa Sustainable Building in Al Qouz and even more energy efficient since the sustainable building’s efficiency is at 120 kWh/m2/year or 86 kWh/sq m per year after solar energy is factored in.
Obaidullah said the building will cost about 15 to 20 per cent more than a similar building of similar quality because of the efficiency systems that Dewa will be introducing.
“But I think it is worth the investment. Dubai is known for its extravagant projects but this one shows that Dewa and Dubai care very much about the environment and nothing like this has been done around the world. So it will be a learning experience for everybody to build something like this especially in this hot environment.”
“There are tangible and intangible returns on investment (ROI). But the intangible ROI is more valuable to us. With this, people will be inspired to [opt for renewables].”
