DMCC to install solar panel parking shades across Dubai’s JLT district

DMCC, the master developer of the JLT district, announced that it will install solar car shades across the majority of the Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) district’s cluster car parking areas.

Once the 6.3MW project is complete, JLT will be home to one of the UAE’s largest district solar car shade installations, with around 17 locations earmarked to get them.

The project will result in a significant reduction in power consumption tariffs for the district, generating savings each year for property owners,. The project is funded from the cost savings achieved by the energy generation and therefore, will involve no additional costs to the JLT community.

This 20-year agreement was signed as part of the Dubai Clean Energy and Net Zero Carbon Strategy 2050, which will provide 100 per cent of Dubai’s total power capacity from clean energy sources. It also forms part of DMCC’s sustainability strategy, which will see a reduction in the business district’s impact on the environment, with a particular emphasis on water and energy usage.

Work is set to commence this month, with additional DMCC assets and other energy reduction initiatives set to join the scheme in the near future.

Feryal Ahmadi, CEO, DMCC, said: “As seen at COP26, sustainability and decreasing carbon emissions are among the most critical issues that people and businesses face today. Sustainability is integrated into every level of DMCC, which is why we are proud to be driving Dubai’s decarbonisation efforts. Through initiatives such as this, we are able to deliver an enormously positive impact to the 100,000 people that live, work and enjoy the JLT district.”

The installation of solar panels across JLT follows on from another solar car shade initiative at One JLT, which will achieve further significant cost savings.

In addition, a range of additional energy saving initiatives have been implemented over the past 12 months and have reduced consumption from the national energy grid by over 30 per cent.

Sustainability and other ESG issues are a core focus for DMCC. In August 2017, DMCC became the first free zone in the GCC to commit to the United Nations Global Compact, encouraging responsible business practices throughout the entire value chain.

In other news, in January, DMCC announced that it working towards the completion of projects, including the construction of a new road network and landscaping works that will facilitate travel between JLT and the Jumeirah island area, and also result in additional parking spaces for visitors to the community.

Read: Infrastructure upgrades in Dubai’s JLT to include new road network