SirajPower strengthens its footprint in the UAE with expansion to Abu Dhabi

SirajPower, the UAE’s leading provider of solar roof plants offering both construction and financing solutions under one umbrella, today announced the expansion of its operations in Abu Dhabi following the signature of the very first commercial lease in Abu Dhabi, with Hepworth, the Middle East premier manufacturer and supplier of plastic piping solutions. Under this new partnership, SirajPower will install, finance and operate 1.16 MWp PV system on two Hepworth facilities in Abu Dhabi, under a 20-year leasing scheme. The plant will cover almost 25% of its electricity consumption, saving 1,100 tons of CO2 from the first year of operations.

Abu Dhabi, with the Masdar initiative launched more than 12 years ago, is well-established as a leader in solar power and the latest edition of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week has further cemented the position of the capital as a global player thanks to the large scale projects developed by the Department of Energy (DoE) and Masdar across different parts of the world. According to the Chairman of DoE, Abu Dhabi has invested AED 8bn in renewables to date. Whilst large-scale projects have been a key focus for the UAE, it has also developed a regulatory framework and competitiveness that has fostered more small-scale, commercial and industrial solutions to launch in the market.

In 2018, SirajPower has established itself as the leader of distributed solar energy under the Dubai Shams initiative with the highest solar capacity directly installed, financed and operated. The company has strengthened its portfolio with a total capacity of over 50 MWp secured. It is now aiming to create the same momentum achieved in Dubai and encourage more businesses in Abu Dhabi to install solar rooftops to be at the forefront of the transition.

Laurent Longuet, CEO at SirajPower said: “We are delighted to kick-off the New Year strongly with our first solar deal in Abu Dhabi after championing the installation of major solar rooftops under Dubai Shams last year. This expansion is a ground-breaking move that showcases the growing demand for solar distribution in the emirate, as well as our commitment to increase the number of solar rooftop projects in the UAE to achieve its ambitious sustainable developments goals. We are seeing positive momentum in the local and regional market with a clear appetite for cleaner energy in the private sector. This sets us on the right path to continue offering our unique and innovative leasing model across diverse sectors that will help grow our business.”

Richard Nakhla, General Manager at Hepworth said:“Our partnership with SirajPower demonstrates our commitment to innovation in our operations to address today’s challenges. For our electricity consumption is a significant part of our manufactory cost, we decided to go green. We have been looking for a solution to decrease our cost and by the same time limit our impact on the environment and reducing our carbon footprint. We opted for SirajPower in 2016 by signing a 20 years’ lease scheme for a 1MWp solar rooftop system on our facilities. In 2018 we extended our partnership by adding 80kWp on our carport in Dubai. Today we are happy to expand our collaboration in Abu Dhabi as we valued SirajPower’ strong competencies in the distributed solar energy field as well as their creativity to find solutions that fit our business requirements. We feel privileged to be the first to benefit from distributed solar energy in Abu Dhabi and set an example for the market.”

SirajPower’s leadership team is constituted of experts with over two decades of experience in the renewable sector. For instance, Laurent Longuet played an instrumental role in the construction of Shams 1 in Abu Dhabi, nearly ten years ago. It was the first concentrated solar power plant in the region and the largest worldwide at the time of its commissioning.