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Enerwhere installs innovative 5 megawatt (MW) solar-hybrid power facility at TDIC's Saadiyat Accommodation Village.
Abu Dhabi, January 21, 2015
Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), the master developer in charge of major tourism, cultural and residential destinations in Abu Dhabi, and Enerwhere, the world's leading provider of rental solar power plants, have expanded its ground-breaking 5 megawatt (MW) solar-diesel hybrid power plant at the Saadiyat Accommodation Village, the housing facilities built in 2009 to house workers working on TDIC projects on Saadiyat. Due to its innovative technology and contract structure, the project already won the Middle East Solar Industry Association's "Project of the Year" award in December 2014.
The solar-hybrid power plant replaces 7 MW of conventional diesel generators with a hybrid system combining 4.4 MW of high-efficiency generators synchronized with a 350 kilowatt (kW) solar field. By doing so, TDIC is cutting the Village's carbon emissions and annual diesel consumption of five million litres by 25 per cent. The solar-hybrid system has been operating since June 2014 and running at full production capacity since the end of July. Based on the positive performance over the first six months of operation, Enerwhere and TDIC in December decided to nearly double the size of the solar field, and reached the current size of 350 kW this week. The intention is to keep increasing the size of the solar field as long as the project continues.
The project was successfully devised, implemented and delivered by TDIC's Facilities Management Department in conjunction with Enerwhere, the world's leading provider of temporary solar-hybrid power solutions to commercial and industrial users. The solar-hybrid plant is one of the largest of its kind in the world.
Dr. Nathalie Staelens, Head of Environmental Services at TDIC, said: "We are always looking into innovative solutions to make our developments more sustainable and I am very pleased we can reduce our carbon footprint by deploying Enerwhere's solar-hybrid power generation solution on Saadiyat Island. This initiative will reduce our carbon emissions by 3,300 tonnes per year and our particulate emissions by over 600 kg per year just in the first phase. We are hoping to improve our carbon footprint further by rolling this solution out to our other facilities which are currently running on temporary diesel power."
Daniel Zywietz, Chief Executive Officer of Enerwhere, highlighted the main challenges of the project and Enerwhere's approach: "In our first discussions with TDIC, it became clear that apart from the efficiency of our innovative solar-hybrid concept, a key requirement was going to be the reliability of the power supply. Enerwhere's solar solution provides consistent power for air-conditioning, lighting, water and the central kitchen for the Village's 8,000 residents. Any outage would be unacceptable." To provide maximum reliability and to guarantee the efficiency of the plant, Enerwhere installed a proprietary monitoring system that remotely monitors the power usage and ensure the system is properly functioning, 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.
The solar field covers 7,000 square metres of ground area and is built from scalable and mobile 25 kW blocks that are containerized in the Jebel Ali Free Zone. The system is composed of high-efficiency solar modules from Yingli Solar and other state-of-the-art proprietary components made in Germany and the UAE. Enerwhere has perfected the on-site assembly and installation to a high standard of cost-effectiveness, low implementation time and without the need for heavy equipment. "Enerwhere offered us the ability to purchase power on a per kilowatt hour (kWh) basis, instead of the fixed-capacity rental agreements that is typical in the industry. Given our highly variable energy demands, we leave it to the experts from Enerwhere to precisely match the power production to our requirements, without overpaying for unused capacity," said Phil Mills, Director of Facility Management at TDIC.
The size and capacity of the solar power plan is adjustable to meet the seasonal and growing demands of the Village, thereby further improving power costs. In the summer, peak energy demand driven by air-conditioning can be four times that of the cooler month of January.
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About Enerwhere
Enerwhere is a provider of innovative, transportable solar-hybrid power plants to commercial and industrial clients across the construction, oil and gas, mining, hospitality and manufacturing sectors. Enerwhere's solutions are available either on a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) or Rental / Leasing basis, without hefty upfront investments from users, and can be rapidly deployed to even remote locations for either temporary or permanent power applications. Enerwhere is based in Dubai, UAE. For further information, please visit www.enerwhere.com.
About Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC)
Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), established in 2006 and fully owned by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, is a master developer of major tourism, cultural and residential destinations in Abu Dhabi.
These include Saadiyat, a natural island that is a ten-minute drive from downtown Abu Dhabi featuring luxury resorts, championship beachfront golf courses, sophisticated residential communities, retail destinations and cultural institutions - designed by world-renowned Pritzker Prize-winning architects - such as Zayed National Museum, Louvre Abu Dhabi and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. TDIC is also developing Desert Islands, a heritage-based tourism destination composed of eight islands - Sir Bani Yas Island, the historical Dalma Island and the previously unexplored Discovery Islands.
TDIC has built a strong reputation among international industry players for its compelling value proposition, transparency of business approach and ability to deliver. The company has been awarded a high investment grade rating of AA by top credit rating agency Standard & Poor's This rating reflects TDIC's strong financial position and supports the company's credit worthiness to investors, lenders and other market participants.
By creating investment partnerships and joint ventures, TDIC's developments are helping to support the Emirate's evolution into a world-class destination for tourists, businesses and residents. TDIC offers significant employment and vocational training opportunities for Emiratis keen to enhance their careers and professional qualifications.
For further information, please visit www.tdic.ae.
© Press Release 2015