Photo credit: Dubai government media office
The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy[1] has announced incentives to encourage community members to use electric and hybrid vehicles, and promote the use of sustainable transport, which will have a lower average annual energy consumption rate.
DEWA’s (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority) registered users will be able to have their electric vehicles charged by DEWA’s Green Charger electric vehicle charging stations, completely free. This incentive will last until the end of 2019. This will be exclusive to public charging stations, and does not include home charging stations. The Road Transport Authority (RTA) will also provide incentives for electric vehicles, including free assigned parking, exemption from RTA electric vehicle registration and renewal fees, exemption from Salik’s tag fee (Salik is Dubai’s automatic road toll collection system through attachment of a tag to vehicle windshield), and arranging a special sticker for number plates.
Under the umbrella of the Supreme Council, DEWA is working on implementing the Dubai Green Mobility Initiative to promote the use of electric and hybrid vehicles. This supports the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, for Dubai to have the lowest carbon footprint in the world by 2050, and the Dubai Carbon Abatement Strategy to cut carbon emissions by 16% by 2021.
DEWA launched the Green Charger initiative in 2014, to build the infrastructure for electric vehicle charging stations all over Dubai. During the second quarter of 2014, DEWA began implementing the Green Charger initiative, which included the installation of 100 charging stations. This stage was successfully completed by the end of 2015, in coordination with the relevant parties, including the public and private sectors.
DEWA is currently working on installing 100 more charging stations to bring the total number to 200 in 2018. Dubai Government has set the tariff for charging electric vehicles by Green Chargers at a cost price of 29 fils (8 US cents) per kilowatt. This is a significant saving, compared to fuel-powered cars. Due to these efforts, the electric car sector has grown by about 30% between 2014 and 2016.
The Supreme Council of Energy issued directive number 1 of 2016 to set a target for government institutions. Therefore, at least 10% of all newly-purchased cars will be electric or hybrid from 2016 to 2020.
The proportion of electric and hybrid cars is expected to rise to 2% by 2020, and 10% by 2030.
"This supports the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and the UAE National Agenda leading to the UAE Vision 2021 to create a sustainable environment for air quality, conserve water resources, increase clean energy and green development, and the objectives of the Dubai Plan 2021, to make Dubai a smart, sustainable and innovative city in managing its resources, improving its quality of life, and consolidating its position as a global model for green economy," said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Supreme Council of Energy and MD & CEO of DEWA
"Under the directives of our wise leadership, who made sustainability a key priority, the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy launched the Dubai Green Mobility Initiative to motivate organisations, under its umbrella to use sustainable transport, such as hybrid and electric vehicles, and to contribute to the sustainable development of the Emirate by reducing carbon emissions in ground transport, which is the second-largest greenhouse gas emitter in Dubai," he added.
