Tender for large-scale solar rooftop rollout in first half of 2019

Residential buildings deemed suitable for solar rooftop panels under the Sahim-2 project will be identified during the first quarter of 2019, said Al Ghaithi. Installations atop the first lot of 3,000 buildings are due to be completed by 2023, he noted.

The Authority, the official said, is currently working with consultants to develop a legal and operational framework that sets out the principles and guidelines necessary for planning, implementing and developing technical and financial models for the Sahim-2 initiative, as well as the roles and responsibilities of all the participating entities.

“An agent will be appointed to monitor the installation of solar energy systems, to establish a record of the assets of all these systems and to monitor the electrical energy produced during the project period, in order to ensure the compatibility of performance to obtain all the objectives and benefits expected from the project,” he said.

Unless Sahim-2, the Sahim-1 initiative, which was launched in 2017, enables all manner of customers to install solar panels on their premises at their own cost, subject to approvals from the authorities concerned. Output from these installations can be consumed themselves, with any surplus offered for sale to the grid at Bulk Supply Tariffs. “In coordination with the relevant entities, the Authority has facilitated the procedures for obtaining the necessary approvals for solar panel installation on public, private or residential premises according to the regulations and controls. Coordination with SMES and the Distribution Code Review Panel continued for registration and licensing of installation companies,” said Al Ghaithi.