In the wake of the widespread distribution of renewable energy in the Middle East, Dubai Port World, a semi-governmental UAE company specializing in port operations, has had green light to the construction of what should become the biggest photovoltaic project in the Middle East, which will develop in the free trade zone of the port of Jebel Ali and of Mina Rashid, in the Emirate of Dubai.
Among the many examples of important photovoltaic plants built globally there is the one of Desert Sunlight Solar Farm, 550 MW, which opened in February 2015, the one of Sarnia, 97 MW, with more than 420,000 photovoltaic modules and the one of Montalto di Castro, 84 , 2 MW, with over 276,000 installed modules.
The largest rooftop system in the world is, however, the one built for the Centro Ingrosso Sviluppo Campano (CIS) in Nola, Naples, with an output of 25 MW peak, while the so-called “Solar Pergola” built in Barcelona -having a total of 444 kWp solar modules on a single sail of 112 x 50 meters suspended in midair- is considered the most attractive solar PV installation.
The first phase of the renewable energy project approved by the government for the UAE Dubai Port World will concern the coverage of 51 roofs and four car parking areas with a new generation of photovoltaic panels, consisting in modules composed by 48 to 52 cells, placed in series and arranged so that they can all have the same exposure to sunlight.
Moreover, thanks to recent technological innovations, most of the components can be later recovered for further use. The initiative, which should be completed during 2017, involves the installation of a total of 88,000 photovoltaic panels able to generate approximately 22 MWp. Such output will also ensure the coverage of 40% of the total energy demand for the ports of Jebel Ali and of Mina Rashid.
(Bologna Office – Linda Tontodonati – 0039 (0)51 2750020)
