Contractor interest in the nascent market for installing solar panels in Dubai is growing, but remains skewed towards commercial rather than domestic users.
Dubai’s Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has just published a guide for homeowners on how to get panels installed, which includes a list of approved consultants and contractors.
Homeowners need to engage these companies to help secure a no-objection certificate from Dewa and approval for their system designs, as well as getting permission to connect to the network once completed works are inspected.
Within masterplanned communities, homeowners may also need to gain separate approval from the developer or owners’ association before installing panels.
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Step-by-step guide: How to install solar panels in your home
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For example, Union Properties requires residents to gain no objection certificates and gate passes for contractors before carrying out any modification or alteration works, and tenants need to submit various papers including a connection agreement from Dewa, technical drawings and method statements.
A spokesman for Nakheel said that it also requires owners to submit modification proposals before doing any work, however, it said that “the installation of solar panels is both permitted and encouraged in Nakheel communities”.
One of Dubai’s biggest contracting companies, Al Jaber Engineering & Contracting (Alec), set up a division last year targeting the solar panels market but its focus is on commercial and industrial buildings.
Gipin Mani, the account manger for Alec Energy, said that Dewa’s introduction of net metering had opened the door for all property owners to be able to capitalise on solar energy.
Net metering allows property owners to effectively “sell” excess power generated during the day to Dewa, which gives credits that can be redeemed on future energy bills.
This means property owners no longer need expensive storage batteries to benefit from solar generation.
Mr Mani said the length of the payback period for those installing solar panels varies because Dewa charges homeowners and commercial users different rates based on energy usage levels.
However, even conservative energy users should see a payback for solar installations within eight years, he said.
“It’s a very good initiative. A lot of people are interested in investing,” he argued.
Mr Nami said that it generally takes about 10 square metres of roof space to generate 1kW of power, so a typical three-bed villa with 100 to 200 sq m of roof space would be capable of generating between 10 and 20kW of power.
Alec Energy typically targets projects capable of generating at least 500kW. It installs the systems for free under lease deals lasting for 20 years. It then provides electricity at a discount to Dewa’s regular rate but requires a minimum level of power use.
In October, the company agreed a deal with Al Nabooda Automobiles to install 25,000 solar panels on the roofs and car parks of its body and paint shop. The panels will generate about 6.8MW, or about 70 per cent of the shop’s energy requirements.
Zohal Renewable Energy, a company set up in May 2015 as a joint venture between Gargash Group and Green Energy Systems, is one company that sees opportunities in the residential market.
It has spent more than a year ensuring that all five of its engineers gained accreditation from Dewa and has already installed panels at a mosque within Dubai Silicon Oasis as well as at a labour camp for fisheries workers in Jebel Ali.
Muhammad Ansari, Zohal’s sales and marketing engineer, said that its first two residential projects are in the design phase. It is calculating a more aggressive payback period than Alec – six years – on the basis that “current electricity prices will increase” over time.
He said that installations cost about US$1.50 (Dh5.50) per watt produced but is more conservative in his target of how much a typical villa roof can produce, given that many also have to accommodate chiller units and other plant equipment.
“It is tough to accommodate more than 4 to 5 kW on a single villa,” he said, unless the property has been specifically designed to accommodate panels.
Mr Ansari said the high demand for power in the region and the weather conditions makes solar an ideal power source but added that “the process to apply for a solar connection for domestic users should be simple, not time consuming, which is the case now.
“If the government eases the procedure for end users, that will be a significant kick for the market,” he said.
mfahy@thenational.ae
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Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
Fifa Club World Cup:
When: December 6-16
Where: Games to take place at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi and Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain
Defending champions: Real Madrid
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
heading
Iran has sent five planeloads of food to Qatar, which is suffering shortages amid a regional blockade.
A number of nations, including Iran's major rival Saudi Arabia, last week cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of funding terrorism, charges it denies.
The land border with Saudi Arabia, through which 40% of Qatar's food comes, has been closed.
Meanwhile, mediators Kuwait said that Qatar was ready to listen to the "qualms" of its neighbours.
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Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
