• Investing AED 4 million in phase 1

  • Expected to source 60% of its electricity needs from renewable energy by 2020

Dubai, UAE – In the presence of H.E. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA); Mr. Abdalla Sultan Alowais, Chairman, Al Rawdah; Mr. Abdulla Al Qubaisi  Vice Chairman, Al Rawdah; Dr Rashid Dafalla, CEO, Al Rawdah; and representatives from Dubai Municipality, DEWA and Al Rawdah,  Emirates Modern Poultry Co. (Al Rawdah), the largest poultry farm in the UAE, announced the conversion of its food processing unit at their Dubai facility into a solar powered plant, making it the first solar powered food processing unit in the UAE. This major transformation is the first step towards the company’s bigger goal of moving to Renewable and Clean energy sources, in line with one of the six pillars of UAE Vision 2021 – creating a sustainable environment and infrastructure.

The announcement was made by Mr. Abdalla Sultan Alowais at a special event organized at the company’s Dubai Farm. In his speech, Alowais highlighted that the company started the installation of Solar Panels at their Dubai Farm, which is located on the Dubai-Al Ain Road, in 2016. In the initial phase, solar power will provide 50% of the energy required to run the food processing unit, which accounts for 16% of the energy requirement of the entire farm. Phase one involved an investment of AED 4 million. The ISO and HACCP certified company aims to increase their renewable energy capabilities to meet 60% of the entire farm’s energy requirement by 2020.   

Talking about the transformation, Alowais, said, “We are proud to be the first Poultry Farm in the UAE to move to Solar Energy. Minimizing our environmental footprint has always been a top priority for the company. Being UAE’s homegrown company, our vision has been aligned with that of our wise leadership. The initiative to turn to solar energy is in line with UAE’s vision of moving towards a sustainable future by adopting renewable and clean energy sources. To us, this is just the beginning to a transformative journey into the future”

H.E. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said, “I congratulate Emirates Modern Poultry on this important achievement, which supports our shared vision to protect the environment and reduce the carbon footprint. It also supports our close cooperation with the private sector to increase the share of clean energy as part of the Shams Dubai initiative. DEWA launched Shams Dubai to support the Smart Dubai initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai the smartest and happiest city in the world”.

Al Rawdah’s initiative is aimed at reducing the company’s environmental footprint and reduce their dependency on traditional energy sources. Apart from the bigger goal of reducing their carbon footprint, the solar panel installation at the farm will also save the company a significant percentage on their running cost.

“With the 3,840 solar panels fully operational, we will be able to generate 1 Mega Watt of electrical power, which will result in significant savings on our running costs.  This investment will have remarkable returns for both, the company and the environment. We are also in the process of installing solar panels at our Liwa Farm, which will be operational soon. With this transition, Al Rawdah aims to inspire other companies across industries to adopt renewable energy sources for a better future,” said Dr. Rashid Dafalla, CEO, Al Rawdah.

In line with UAE Vision 2021, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai launched, the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050. This strategy, aims to

provide 7% of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy sources by 2020, 25% by 2030, and 75% by 2050. In this light, Al Rawdah’s pilot project is certainly a move in the right direction. The company is looking at making many such strides towards adopting renewable and alternate energy sources.

-Ends-

For further information, please contact:
Rabih Saab - PR Manager – Quill Communications 
Mobile: +971 55 566 1370
Email: rsaab@quillmena.com

Manoshi Banerjee - PR Manager – Quill Communications
Mobile: +971 52 4453 388
Email: mbanerjee@gmail.com  

About Al Rawdah: 
Emirates Modern Poultry Co., also known as Al Rawdah, was established in 1994 as a subsidiary of Emirates Rawabi Group. Al Rawdah is recognized as the pioneer of UAE poultry industry.  Through its state of the art, fully automatic slaughter house, Al Rawdah is the UAE’s largest producer of poultry products, with 40,000 kilograms of fresh bird meat processed every day. Al Rawdah’s products are 100% halal, and produced as per world-class operating standards. Al Rawdah chickens are only given 100% vegetarian feed.

Al Rawdah’s poultry farm is located 40km from Dubai along the Dubai-Al Ain Road. 538 hectares of land host cutting edge facilities to manufacture a range of superb quality products made from fresh chicken and processed meat. The brand’s robust distribution network includes hypermarkets, supermarkets and local grocery stores, and has helped it capture up 35 per cent market share in UAE. Al Rawdah’s frozen products are also sought after for export to many countries.

Al Rawdah leads the way when it comes to using the latest technologies. The poultry company utilizes heat exchange technology used to produce hot water, as well as utilizing the ‘Grander’ technology to ensure top quality water is used throughout the whole chain of production. Al Rawdah is the first poultry in the world to use a steam scalder, and the first poultry company in the Middle East to adopt PCR technology in diagnoses of pathogens.

Al Rawdah is a pioneer in bringing the highest animal welfare and eco-friendly standards to its operations. A resident vetinary doctor ensures that the birds are kept healthy and absolutely free from antibiotics and growth hormones. Also, the poultry was the first to adopt the ‘Inovo’ vaccination of the embryonic baby chick.

The brand has been recognised as a Superbrand since 2013, and has also won the 20th Golden Trophy for Food & Beverages in Germany. Al Rawdah was the first poultry company in the Middle East to win an HACCP accreditation, and the first manufacturing organization in the Middle East to be certified to the ISO 14001 in 1997 and has since followed that up with ISO 14001:2004 and ISO 22000/2005 certifications.

For more information on Al Rawdah, please visit: www.alrawdahfarm.com

© Press Release 2017