Owners of electric vehicles in Dubai have benefited significantly from charging stations across the emirate, enabling them to travel more than 58 million kilometres since 2015 while cutting refuelling costs by about three quarters, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority said.
The utility's EV Green Charger initiative has provided more than 8,800 megawatt-hours – equivalent to the annual energy capture of some wind turbines – to its users, Dewa said in a statement on the Dubai Media Office website on Monday.
Dewa's charging network has increased to 325 stations, equivalent to more than 560 charge points, as use of EVs across the emirate grows. The number of registered vehicles in Dubai rose to 5,107 as of January 31, 2022, from 71 on December 31, 2015.
“We promote green and sustainable transport in Dubai by providing a robust public charging network for electric vehicles across Dubai,” said Waleed bin Salman, executive vice president of business development and excellence at Dewa.
“We also strive to provide a seamless and fast experience for our customers by using the latest smart and innovative technologies.”
The UAE is expanding efforts to shift to greener technologies, most notably under its Net Zero 2050 Strategic Initiative, which calls for Dh600bn to be invested in clean and renewable energy sources in the next three decades.
EVs play a major part in this programme, as transport is the biggest contributor to carbon emissions.
Global carbon dioxide emissions reached their highest annual level yet in 2021, rising 6 per cent to 36.3 gigatonnes, figures from the International Energy Agency show.
Global sales of EVs, meanwhile, more than doubled to 6.6 million in 2021, the Paris-based IEA said.
The willingness of consumers in the UAE to use EVs has continued to attract investments. Tesla Motors, the world's biggest EV maker, opened its showroom in Dubai in July 2017, the first in the Middle East amid signs of a maturing market for green vehicles.
In Dubai last month, M Glory Holding Group's EV manufacturing plant, the first in the UAE and one of the biggest in the Middle East, was opened. The Dh1.5 billion facility at Dubai Industrial City aims to make 55,000 EVs a year.
New York-based consultancy AlixPartners said last week that the UAE ranked 38th for the second quarter in a row on its Automotive Electrification Index for the fourth quarter of 2021.
The UAE is “taking action to start the manufacture of EVs in-country and to tap into the significant opportunity the EV market represents”, Alessandro Missaglia, managing director of AlixPartners, said in the report.
Dewa’s continuous enhancement of the EV Green Charger initiative through the use of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies also supports Dubai's Green Mobility Strategy 2030, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the utility's managing director and chief executive, said.
“This helps to consolidate Dubai’s position as a global capital for a green economy and sustainable development,” the statement said.
Shares of Dewa surged about 23 per cent as it made its debut on the Dubai Financial Market on April 12. It closed down about 0.7 per cent on Monday.
