dewa-inaugurates-dubais-first-electric-vehicle-charging-station

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, has inaugurated the first electric vehicle charging station in Dubai, at Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (DEWA’s) main office. The ceremony was attended by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, HE Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), HE Ahmed Bin Byat, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Du, HE Ahmed Butti Al Muhairbi, Secretary General of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, Abdullah Kalban, MD & CEO of Emirates Global Aluminium, Abdullah Abdel Kareem, Director General of the Department of Oil Affairs, Dr. Aisha Butti Bin Bishr, Assistant Director-General at the Executive Office of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Ali Shahdoor, Deputy Chief Editor of Al Bayan, Sami Al Reyami, Editor-in-Chief of Emarat Al Youm, and senior officials from the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and DEWA. The move supports the Smart Dubai initiative, launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai the happiest city on earth that provides the most efficient and seamless experience and is the safest place for residents and visitors. “By transforming Dubai into the smartest city in the world, we aim to make our society happier and provide smart, instant, and seamless services that are available anytime, anywhere. Dubai has all the elements to be a global leader in sustainability, competitiveness, and green economy,” said Al Tayer. “This station is an important step towards achieving the objectives of the sustainable smart city and transforming Dubai into the smartest city in the world. It also supports the Dubai Plan 2021 and the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 to establish Dubai as a global hub for trade, finance, tourism, and sustainability, and a global role model of the highest standards of energy efficiency. One of the main factors for the success of smart cities is to provide a smart environment that rationally and sustainably uses resources in an innovative way, by adopting state-of-the-art technologies. DEWA has developed a comprehensive strategy for smart grids. Currently, DEWA is implementing three main initiatives. These are connecting solar energy to houses and buildings, smart applications through smart meters and grids, and the infrastructure for vehicle charging stations. DEWA has started implementing the electric vehicle charging station infrastructure initiative,” added Al Tayer. “This pioneering initiative will greatly support DEWA’s efforts to reduce the carbon footprint, protect the environment, and drive Dubai’s sustainable development forward. We are confident this project will have the full support of Dubai residents as well as government and private organisations,” concluded Al Tayer. “DEWA’s inauguration of the first electric vehicle charging station in Dubai is a major step towards achieving the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and the directives of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to make Dubai the smartest city in the world. This initiative supports the Smart City objectives of our strategy and will significantly improve the public’s perception about this vehicle technology and encourage its uptake in Dubai. We are confident that inaugurating the station today will have a great impact on supporting efforts to make Dubai a smart city,” said Dr. Bishr. “The inauguration of the first electric vehicle charging station in Dubai is a momentous occasion for Dubai and we were honoured to be present with the BMW i3, the first electric car that has zero emissions. We launched the BMW i8 hybrid sports car last year in Dubai, which has been well-received, so we look forward to continuing our dialogue with DEWA to assess the potential to sell the i3 in Dubai,” said Stathis Stathis, Managing Director of AGMC. DEWA’s third initiative includes building the infrastructure needed to introduce electric vehicles in the Emirate, and establishing 100 charging stations in 2015. DEWA is collaborating with a number of national and private organisations to implement this leading project. These include car manufacturers, national airports, shopping malls, petrol stations, Dubai Municipality, RTA, hotels, and owners and operators of parking lots in Dubai. DEWA is also working with real estate developers, including Emaar and Nakheel, to determine the most appropriate sites to set up electric vehicle charging stations across Dubai. The first phase of the project includes installing 16 charging stations for public use. Each station can accommodate two vehicles at the same time. Twelve stations have been installed at DEWA’s centres, which can charge 24 vehicles simultaneously. These stations are at DEWA’s head office, the Sustainable Building, Al Wasl, Al Hudaiba, Burj Nahar, Umm Ramool, and Jebel Ali. These stations have been installed and are ready for use. One station has been installed in Dubai Silicon Oasis with another and two more due in Dubai Design District (D3) by March 2015. During phase two of the project, 84 charging stations of different types will be installed across Dubai. These include fast, public, and home charging stations. They will be installed at Dubai Airports, Dubai Municipality, RTA, and other locations such as shopping malls, petrol stations, hotels, and parking areas, among. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2015. DEWA will build three types of electric vehicle charging stations that are compatible with the latest international technologies used in electric vehicles. Fast charging stations that take 30 minutes will be available in petrol stations. The other two types include charging stations that take 4 hours, and 6-8 hours, respectively. The setting up of the three types will be based on recommendations by the project’s consultants.