DEWA Announces New Regulations for Grid-Connected PV Systems

Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA), the sole power generation and distribution utility in Dubai, UAE, has announced a revision to its regulations to its Shams Dubai Program, the net metering scheme for grid-connected Photovoltaic (PV) systems that was introduced in 2015. The changes are with regards to the implementation and connection of new solar PV plants to its distribution network, applying to all future PV systems to be installed in the emirate. Previously installed that are already in operation remain unaffected by the new regulation.

Limits to Capacity of Renewable Generators

The key change that has been introduced is the drastic reduction in the size of the PV plants that its customers are allowed to install. The maximum size of a grid-connected PV system that can be installed in Dubai has been reduced to 1 MegaWatt (MW). Customers can the maximum PV capacity that they would be allowed to install by referring to the table below; depending which slab the Total Connected Load (TCL) assigned to their plot falls within, the maximum kVA capacity of the solar plant that can be installed within the plot can be determined:

Maximum PV Capacity that can be installed for grid-connected PV Systems in Dubai, UAE.

Excerpt from DEWA’s updated Shams Dubai Regulations (Version 4, June 2022)

Furthermore, DEWA specifies in the new regulations that renewable generators (i.e. PV Systems) “shall be installed on rooftops, facades, and other existing structures” and that “ground mounted installations are not envisaged.”

The updated regulations in full detail are available in DEWA’s Shams Dubai Conditions document, which can be downloaded here :

DEWA CONNECTION CONDITIONS FOR GENERATORS OF ELECTRICITY FROM SOLAR ENERGY (Version 4, June 2022)