(WAM) — Ducab Group, one of the UAE’s largest manufacturing businesses has taken a significant step towards increasing its sustainability with the official opening of its solar plant, which was inaugurated by Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, DEWA, in the presence of Dr Ahmad bin Hassan Al Shaikh, Chairman, Ducab, Board members and senior officials from both parties.

The solar plant, a 2MWp (megawatt peak) renewable generation project located at Ducab’s head office site in Jebel Ali, Dubai, was developed in partnership with Etihad Energy Service Company, Etihad, ESCO, in alignment with the UAE’s ambitions to harness the potential of solar power. Comprising of both rooftop and ground-mounted solar PV, the combined plant can produce 3.5GWH (gigawatt hours) annually, which is enough to meet the energy needs of 500 homes, or sufficient enough to run the Ducab PVC plant on site.

Energy generated by Ducab’s solar plant will lead to savings of approximately 660 tonnes per year of carbon dioxide – equivalent to the quantity of carbon dioxide processed by 40,000 trees over 10 years.

Saeed Al Tayer said, “I am pleased to commission Ducab’s photovoltaic solar plant. It also underlines Ducab’s role as a leading organisation that supports the vision of our wise leadership to reduce carbon emissions, and the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to make Dubai the city with the lowest carbon footprint in the world and provide 75 percent of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy sources by 2050. DEWA also encourages individuals and organisations to install solar photovoltaic solar systems in buildings as part of the Shams Dubai initiative, which supports the Smart Dubai initiative to make Dubai the smartest and happiest city in the world.”

Dr Ahmad Al Shaikh said, “Ducab Solar Plant represents our continued efforts towards making our business more sustainable, in line with the vision of the UAE’s leadership and our commitment towards the environment. We would like to thank Saeed Al Tayer, DEWA, and Etihad ESCO for their partnership in making this project a reality, which will lead to considerable emissions savings, as well as valuable financial savings.”

Designed to last the 25-year design life, over 150kms of Ducab’s specialist UL certified SolarBICC* range of wires has been supplied for the solar plant, that also includes 300 sq.mm low voltage copper cables which have been an integral part of this power plant construction.

The project utilises the latest smart technology applications including DEWA Smart Metering, remote monitoring of power output using a web or mobile app, and automated self-cleaning solar panels using solar-powered cleaning robots.