ICD Brookfield Place for Multiplex
| Industry / Application | Construction site |
| Plant type | Solar-diesel-battery hybrid plant |
| Total capacity | 600 kVA with 200 kWh of storage |
| Location | DIFC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| Contracted | May 2017 |
| Deployed | July 2017 |
Middle East’s first construction site powered by a combination of solar, batteries and generators running on biodiesel sourced from Dubai-based Neutral Fuels. The solar hybrid system is powering the site offices for the $1bn ICD Brookfield Place project in DIFC, which is currently being built by a joint venture of Multiplex and Ssangyong.
During the day, the site office is powered by 40 kWp of solar panels installed on the roof of the site office, while power at night comes from the batteries or diesel generators. The systems are fully synchronized and on days with high loads, both the solar system and the diesel generators can provide power at the same time. This combination of energy sources dramatically reduces the diesel consumption, carbon footprint and cost of running the site office, while increasing reliability at the same time.
The ICD Brookfield Place project is Multiplex’ second construction site that is powered by solar and biodiesel. Another one of Enerwhere’s systems has been powering the site office for The Dubai Mall Zabeel Extension since August 2016.
Tushant Suri, Sustainability Manager for Multiplex:
“Multiplex has a strong focus on sustainability, and has already won a number of awards for its sustainable buildings and construction practices. So when Enerwhere proposed its new solar-hybrid system design we immediately knew we wanted to be the first ones to implement this system in the UAE. Apart from the cost and sustainability benefits the addition of batteries also increases the reliability and also allows us to avoid noise during the nights and weekends, which is very important for a site close to a residential area .”
Daniel Zywietz, CEO of Enerwhere, explains:
“Most construction sites in the UAE are powered by diesel generators, which are the dirtiest and most expensive form of power generation. Additionally, with the high temperatures and humidity in the UAE conventional engines sometimes break down. In a conventional system this will result in a complete power outage, as the backup generator takes approximately 20 seconds to start. In an office full with computers this is a major hassle, as dozens of people will lose their work. Enerwhere have provided a solution for Multiplex that is cheaper, cleaner and provides 100% reliability. This supports Multiplex’s financial and sustainability agenda. There is no reason why every construction company in the UAE could not follow their lead.”
Karl Feilder, Chairman and CEO of The Neutral Group, is proud to count Enerwhere & Multiplex amongst his customers.
“We always knew it would take time for big business to recognise the importance of very low carbon footprint fuel. Even today there are whole countries that don’t recognise it. We’ve had 5 years to hone our craft and our skills, and now even the trucks that deliver the waste oil to our Neutral Fuels biorefinery run on biodiesel, as does the truck that delivers biofuel to Enerwhere and Multiplex sites. It doesn’t get more environmentally friendly than that!”
