The research and development (R&D) centre of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has been officially opened at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar plant in Dubai.
Solar power, smart grid integration, energy efficiency and water are part of the centre’s areas of work. It will also work on applications such as 3D printing and additive manufacturing to be used for the production of spare parts for power generation, transmission and distribution divisions. The facility has various internal labs, including a Solar Simulator Lab, and will be able to test different solar panel technologies outdoors.
The building of the centre itself has rooftop and car park photovoltaic (PV) installations and building integrated PV in its walls, reducing energy consumption by more than 25%.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar complex is being built in phases and is expected to reach 5,000 MW when fully operational in 2030, with about 1,013 MW to be operational by April 2020. The complex will utilise both photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) components.
