DEWA Encourages Universities to Register for Solar Decathlon Middle East

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), invited international university teams who wish to participate in the Solar Decathlon Middle East, to register on the competition’s website before June this year. The selected teams will be announced next October.

Dubai will host the first two rounds of the Solar Decathlon, which is being held for the first time in the Middle East in 2018, and again in 2020 to coincide with World Expo in Dubai, whose theme 'Connecting Minds, Creating the Future,’ fits well with this distinguished international competition. The total competition prizes are AED 10 million. Universities will meet to design, build, and operate grid-connected, energetically self-sufficient houses. Teams will compete adapt their designs to combat the heat, dust and high humidity experienced by the UAE during the summer.

“Hosting the Decathlon is a practical step that supports the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, to transform Dubai into a global hub for clean energy and green economy. It aims to diversify Dubai's energy mix, and provide 25% of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy sources by 2030. This strategy relies on innovation, and Research and Development (R&D) as the basis for the future of energy, preparing the plans and initiatives to make developments in science and technology,” said Al Tayer.

“The student’s participation in the competition will provide them with a promising opportunity, and will encourage them to innovate, design, build, and operate energy-efficient, attractive solar-powered houses. It will also provide students with unique training to help fill jobs in our nation’s clean energy economy, and contribute to sustainable development,” added Al Tayer.

“We hope to see a good level competitiveness, and highly-innovative models during the next two versions of the competition in 2018, and in 2020. I ask regional and international university teams to prepare your projects to be ready for Dubai, the city whose ambitions have no limits,” Al Tayer concluded.

Al Tayer chaired the first meeting of the Solar Decathlon Middle East (SDME) steering committee last January at DEWA’s main office, to discuss the preparation and organisation of the Solar Decathlon.

During the meeting, the committee reviewed the preparations for workshops for the Deans and Chancellors of engineering faculties, and UAE and GCC-based universities. The meeting addressed specialised work processes for the competition, which will position Dubai as a global model for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainability.

More Details for the Solar Decathlon Middle East can be found on http://solardecathlonme.com/.