Sustainable Future in the UAE: GAC and Total Celebrate One Year in Their Partnership

GAC and Total Solar Distributed Generation (’Total Solar DG’) Middle East are celebrating a year since the solar project at GAC’s Dubai South contract logistics facility has been commissioned. Since then, it has generated 5 million kilowatt-hour (kWh) of renewable electricity, exceeding the forecast 4.2 million kWh and reduced CO₂ emissions by an estimated 2,000 tonnes or the equivalent of planting 35,000 trees. Following this first success, GAC and Total Solar DG have two other projects in the pipeline to be completed by the end of the year.

The 2.7 megawatt-peak (MW) solar-powered rooftop and a viewing platform were installed 20 metres off the ground on GAC’s Dubai South contract logistics facility, one of the highest buildings in the area, near Al Maktoum International Airport.

“At GAC, we seek to integrate sustainability with our business strategy and are continuously looking for ways to mitigate our impact on the environment,” says Neil McMaster, GAC Dubai’s General Manager – Contract Logistics. “This is more than just good intentions; we are taking multiple steps, from offsetting our paper use with tree planting to renewing our fleet and major solar projects. We want to conduct our business responsibly, creating long-term value for the company, our customers and the communities in which we operate in. The solar project has greatly reduced our carbon footprint and will continue to do so in the decades to come.”

This is just one of several milestones in GAC and Total Solar DG’s partnership. Following the success of the first installation, a second 2.60 MW project is in progress at the GAC Logistics Park in Jebel Ali Free Zone due to be completed in July. A third 2.87MW solar rooftop project for another site in Jebel Ali Free Zone is scheduled for completion in the later part of 2021.
This partnership with Total Solar DG Middle East is helping to reduce GAC facilities carbon footprint to enable it to build a more sustainable future in Dubai. When completed, the three projects will result in a cumulative reduction of approximately 5,600 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

This solar project is in line with the GAC Group’s sustainability efforts, one of which is its recent joining of the Global Maritime Forum’s Getting to Zero Coalition, an alliance of more than 140 companies from the maritime, energy, infrastructure and finance sectors working to accelerate the decarbonisation of shipping by developing and deploying zero emission vessels (ZEVs) by the end of the decade.

“We are proud to build this long-term partnership with GAC and honoured to have their trust in the Total Solar Distributed Generation Middle East team to continue developing projects for their facilities across Dubai,” says Marin de Montbel, Managing Director, Total Solar Distributed Generation Middle East. “With the Middle East being a major market for Total, we look forward to supporting the growth of the UAE through clean and sustainable solutions. This project is proof of our active contribution to the development of solar energy in the country.”