Says it is part of its green initiatives to support the UAE leadership’s vision

Telecom company, du has announced the inauguration of the new Shams 1 concentrated solar power (CSP) plant. Saying that it is in support of the UAE leadership’s vision for a greener and more sustainable future, the company claimed that it has implemented several long-running innovative and viable sustainable practices to conserve energy and contribute towards a greener future for the UAE.

In this context, Osman Sultan, CEO, du, said: “His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE, has a strong vision for our country that will lead us to a more sustainable future. Under his guidance, our nation has achieved many world firsts, including the adoption of a long-term national initiative that will lead us to become more environmentally conscious. The inauguration of Shams 1 is a strong step towards our greener future, and I offer my congratulations, on behalf of all my colleagues at du, to the leadership and the people of the UAE on this momentous occasion.”

In addition to the announcement of the inauguration, du listed other sustainability initiatives it had taken:

Hybrid power solutions at base station sites:

du has decided to convert all possible off-grid sites to smart hybrid sites by deploying hybrid solutions, which, in this case, involves deep cycling batteries and the smart Energy Manager, which cycles the site’s load between generator and batteries, thus reducing the run time of the generator significantly – 137 sites were converted to hybrid power solution, resulting, so far, in 50% less fuel consumption and, therefore, 50% lesser CO2 emissions; saving of around 1.3M litres of diesel fuel; and decrease in generator runtime by 70%, meaning less air and noise pollution.

Increasing temperature inside BTS shelters:

As a part of “du green initiatives”, the du technology team has increased the temperature set point inside over 2000 BTS sites, resulting in three per cent energy saving. When asked for details, the company revealed to Climate Control Middle East that the set point inside the BTS shelters was previously 21°C, and was raised to 25°C. It explained that ambient temperature was not a factor there. However, to benefit from cooler days – mostly between November and March – it was testing a Free Cooling Unit system that would draw in cool air from outside. This would help reduce the runtime of the air conditioning units, and further contribute to considerable energy savings, the spokesperson at du pointed out.