Dubai?s first electric vehicle charging station was launched in the emirate at the main office of DEWA, as part of the Smart Dubai initiative
Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, CEO of DEWA, said, ?By transforming Dubai into the smartest city in the world, we aim to make our society happier and provide smart, instant, and seamless services that are available anytime, anywhere. Dubai has all the elements to be a global leader in sustainability, competitiveness, and green economy.?
The move to establish electric vehicle charging stations is to support DEWA?s efforts to reduce carbon footprint, protect the environment and enhance the emirate?s sustainable development index.
The first phase of the project includes installing 16 charging stations. Each station can accommodate two vehicles at a time. Twelve stations have been installed at DEWA?s centres, which can charge 24 vehicles simultaneously. The ready-to-use stations are at DEWA?s head office, the Sustainable Building, Al Wasl, Al Hudaiba, Burj Nahar, Umm Ramool and Jebel Ali. One station has been installed in Dubai Silicon Oasis, and two more are due in Dubai Design District (D3) by March 2015.
During phase two of the project, 84 charging stations of different types will be installed across Dubai. These include fast, public, and home-charging stations, to be installed at Dubai Airports, Dubai Municipality, RTA and other locations such as shopping malls, petrol stations, hotels and parking areas. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2015.
DEWA will build three types of electric vehicle charging stations that are compatible with the latest international technologies used in electric vehicles. Fast-charging stations that take half hour will be available in petrol stations. The other two types include charging stations that take four hours, and six to eight hours, respectively. The setting up of the three types will be based on recommendations by the project?s consultants.
Present at the launch of the charging station was the BMW i3 ? the first electric car with zero emissions. DEWA?s initiative also includes building the infrastructure needed to introduce electric vehicles in the emirate, and establishing 100 charging stations by the end of 2015.
In order to implement and successfully execute the project, DEWA is collaborating with a number of national and private organisations such as car manufacturers, national airports, shopping malls, petrol stations, Dubai Municipality, RTA, hotels, and owners and operators of parking lots in Dubai. Additionally, the organisation is working with real estate developers, including Emaar and Nakheel, to determine the most appropriate sites to set up electric vehicle charging stations across Dubai.
