Dewa doubles electric vehicle charging stations to 200

Dubai - The move complements Dewa's efforts to reduce air pollution

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) will double its electric vehicles charging stations to 200 across Dubai to complete the second phase of the Green Charger initiative. This will build the infrastructure and charging stations for electric vehicles, which are an integral element in DEWA's strategy to develop the advanced infrastructure. The move is in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai the smartest and happiest city in the world.
Dewa is setting up different types of charging stations, including fast-charging stations installed at petrol stations that take 20-40 minutes. These stations have 3 different plugs, one with a capacity of 48 kilowatts (kW) for Alternating Current (AC), CHAdeMO plugs, and Combo plugs with a capacity of 50kW of Direct Current (DC). Medium-charging stations installed at shopping malls, parks, and Dubai Government customer service centres take 2-4 hours. The stations feature two plugs, each with a capacity of 22kW. And finally, wall-charging stations with a capacity of 22kW for AC will take 2-4 hours to charge.
The authority launched the Green Charger initiative in April 2014 to install and manage the required infrastructure to charge electric vehicles. The move complements Dewa's efforts to reduce air pollution and protect the environment from the impact of the transport sector in the emirate.
"Through this initiative, Dewa aims to encourage people to use sustainable transportation of hybrid and electric vehicles, to help reduce carbon emissions in the transport sector, which is the second highest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in Dubai. This initiative will contribute effectively to the achievement of the UAE Vision 2021 and Dubai Plan 2021, to make Dubai a smart, integrated and connected city that is fully sustainable with its resources, and where environmental components are clean, healthy and sustainable, said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dewa.
"The Supreme Council launched the Dubai Green Mobility initiative, to encourage the use of sustainable transport and electric vehicles among its member companies. The council issued directive number 1 of 2016 for all government organisations that at least 2% of their vehicle purchases must be hybrid or electric vehicles from 2016 to 2020. This will then increase to 10% from 2021 to 2030," added Al Tayer.
"Dubai Government identified the rate per kilowatt hour (kW/h) for public charging of an electric vehicle as 29 fils per kW/h. This figure constitutes significant savings for electric car owners, compared with those that use fuel. For example, a Renault electric car can be charged for a full hour for a cost of only Dh7, and you can drive it for 130km, reaching the same speeds as conventional cars. The larger the size of the battery, the more time is needed to charge it, lengthening the distance that can be driven by a car during one charging cycle," added Al Tayer.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com

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