DUBAI 11 April 2019: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) is partnering with Canadian company Enbala to build the region’s first Virtual Power Plant (VPP).
A VPP is a smart network of distributed, small and medium scale generation units such as solar photovoltaic, battery storage and flexible loads. The aim is to increase the visibility of distributed energy resources (DER) and maximise their value by providing grid services such as peak shaving, frequency regulation or energy balancing.
The pilot VPP is a result of a fruitful research collaboration between Dewa’s Research and Development Centre at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park and Enbala. It will act as a platform that aggregates selected distributed energy resources and manages the mixed portfolio as a single conventional power plant connected to the grid. The advanced technology uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enable integration of various types of energy into Dewa’s smart grid.
“…The virtual power plant will increase renewable energy integration capabilities, supporting the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to produce 75% of Dubai’s total energy from clean energy sources,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dewa.
“Within the world of distributed energy management, this is a very exciting and game-changing project. We are honoured to be a part of this far-reaching initiative that is sure to take energy sustainability to new levels. The world will be watching DEWA’s clean energy initiatives with great interest,” said Trent Bowers, Chief Commercial Officer of Enbala.
