ENOC Group opened the first solar-powered service station in the UAE, reiterating its commitment to environmental sustainability and energy efficiency, in line with the Dubai 2021 Plan to become a smart and sustainable city.
The inauguration was attended by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, vice chairman of ENOC board, and managing director and CEO, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, and all the directors of ENOC board, HE Ahmad Al Muhairbi, HE Abdulrahman Al Saleh, HE Dr Abdulrahman A Al Awar, Ahmed Sharaf, and HE Hussain Hassan Mirza Al Sayegh, along with HE Saif Humaid Al Falasi, group CEO of ENOC, Zaid Alqufaidi, managing director of ENOC’s retail business, and the ENOC Group’s senior management team.
Located near the entrance towards Dubai Internet City (DIC) on Sheikh Zayed Road, the service station has installed PhotoVoltaic (PV) solar panels on the roof of the canopy that can produce a peak capacity of 120 kilowatt per hour energy on an ideal day, generating approximately 30 percent more than the average energy required to run the station. The excess power generated is transmitted back to DEWA’s main grid through a DEWA solar metre that tracks the power injected to the power grid.
HE Al Falasi said: “As the key energy player behind Dubai’s success, we remain committed to expanding the UAE’s infrastructural capabilities as we gear up for the Expo 2020. The group has laid out a detailed plan to deliver 14 service stations by 2017. With two service station openings already announced earlier this year, the launch of the UAE’s first solar powered service station demonstrates our efforts to become an environmentally responsible energy player.”
The DIC service station is a pilot site for a number of energy saving technologies such as vapour recovery systems and PV panels. All future ENOC service stations will have provisions to install PV solar panels on the roof of the canopy.
“We have been pioneering several initiatives across the country that are in line with Dubai’s larger plan for a smarter and more sustainable Dubai, while managing the emirate’s future growth. We will continue moving forward by ensuring the availability of clean energy sources and promoting rationalisation of consumption,” added Al Falasi.
The DIC service station will reduce the network’s carbon footprint by 195 equivalent tons of carbon dioxide per year. The station will also deploy several energy saving technologies such as variable refrigerant flow air-conditionings units, motion sensor energy lighting and vapour recovery (VR) system, which uses a process to recover vapour released from the petrol dispensers and storage tanks and condense it back into fuel form. The VR system is expected to convert up to 20,000 litres of fuel.
