DUBAI // A plan to buy back power generated from solar panels on the roofs of houses and office buildings is being considered by utility bosses.
A team of consultants has been appointed by Dubai Water and Electricity Authority (Dewa) to look at the feasibility of such a scheme.
"They are looking at technical specifications, code of connection and commercial aspects," said Saeed Al Tayer, the chief executive of Dewa. "It's still too early to say when it will be implemented."
It is the first time that Dewa has considered linking the growing off-grid solar energy market into the main electricity supply.
Last year it carried out a study to work out how much solar power is being produced outside the grid, and found that businesses and other private owners were producing around five megawatts.
Each solar panel, which measures about one square metre, produces about 130 watts - so five megawatts translates to almost 40,000 panels.
It is not clear whether those solar panels are only in Dubai, or across the whole country. At present none of that power is fed into the main grid.
The concept of buying power produced by privately owned solar panels is popular in more than 50 countries, including the European Union, and is known as a feed-in tariff. However, solar experts say other measures, like government subsidies or preferential rates on bank loans, could similarly stimulate the solar industry in Dubai.
"You don't necessarily need a feed-in tariff to drive the solar energy market," said Karel de Winter, the division manager for supplier Alsa Solar Systems.
"What is needed is a long-term financing mechanism, to allow the clients to spread the costs out over the longer term. "
Roof-top solar panels for a home can cost up to US$10,000 (Dh36,700) to install, and take 15 years to pay for themselves.
The study into the feasibility of feeding into the grid is being carried out by Belgium-based Tractebel.
A second contract was awarded last week to German firm ILF Consulting, for the initial stages of a huge 1,000 megawatt solar park in Dubai, worth Dh11.5billion, which will supply 5 per cent of the UAE's power needs by 2030.
The contract will see the first 10 megawatts, or about 77,000 solar panels, installed and connected to the grid by the middle of next year.
mcroucher@thenational.ae
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950