Dubai - Wind power as a home energy solution?

Dubai Water and Electricity Authority (DEWA) is exploring wind energy options, and if a study confirms that the region would be a good site for wind farms, many of the area's homes could soon be wind-powered.

Wind energy may soon be powering homes in Dubai if a pilot project is successful. Dubai Water and Electricity Authority (DEWA) has announced they have appointed a consultant to study the feasibility of using wind energy in Dubai. "If proven feasible, it will be utilised for a pilot project initially," Saeed M. Al Tayer, managing director and chief executive of DEWA, told Gulf News. Wind speeds in the UAE often exceed the minimum of seven metres per second required to harness power, often reaching up to 12 metres per second.

Currently, DEWA and oil companies limit the use of solar power to monitoring water flow or combating rust in pipes. Al Tayer said: "There are internal discussions on solar energy but usage is curtailed by its relatively high and uncompetitive unit cost of production, its requirement for considerable space and its relatively small scale of electricity production compared with the huge requirement of DEWA." The Department of Renewable Energy predicts up to half the UAE's required energy will come from renewables by 2050.

Environmentalist Dr Allan Dickson, managing director of Solstice, said to achieve that target buildings must be refitted so they consume only 30 per cent of the power currently used. In the next 10 to 15 years, however, Al Tayer expects only one per cent of the electricity produced to come from renewables. This percentage, however, is expected to grow rapidly in the long-term due to the "potentially higher competitiveness of renewable energy usage".

The Middle East's first experimental wind-power plant was set up in the UAE on the Sir Baniyas Island. By 2004, DEWA had the capacity to produce 3,833 megawatts of electricity from five power stations and 188 millions of gallons of water per day from four desalination plants.