Dubai Supreme Council of Energy presents new solar park at WFES

The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy will present plans for the 1,000 megawatt Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park at this week’s World Future Energy Summit.

Now in its fifth year, the summit takes place at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from today until January 16, 2012.

The AED12 billion solar project was announced on January 9 by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and forms a cornerstone of the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 unveiled by the Council last year.

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, said: “We would like to thank HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, patron of WFES 2012, and the organising committee of the summit, for hosting this unique conference and exhibition in the UAE.”

He said: “Our participation in WFES 2012 reflects the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum for enhanced cooperation in the conservation of energy and the wider adoption of renewable energy sources. Attended by world leaders, multinational companies and leading industry experts, the summit shows that the UAE is an active partner in addressing our present-day and future energy and environmental challenges.”

Developed by the Council in 2010 and announced last year, the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 seeks to reduce the emirate of Dubai’s dependence on imported gas by achieving five per cent of power supplies from solar energy, 12 per cent from clean coal, 12 per cent from nuclear, and the remaining 71 per cent from gas.

The first phase of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park producing 10 megawatts of electricity will be completed in 2013.

A detailed model of the planned Dubai solar park will be displayed throughout WFES at the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy stand. The model will be a valuable educational tool for visitors, especially the many university students attending the summit. The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park will help generate five per cent of Dubai’s electricity needs from solar power on completion.

The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy was formed as an independent legal entity in August 2009 under Law 19 of 2009, issued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai.

The new regulatory body seeks to ensure that the emirate’s growing economy will have all the power it needs in the future through providing energy at a reasonable cost and reducing any negative impact on the environment.