Dubai firm to create one of world’s largest solar glass facades at Danish school

Some 12,000 solar glass panels supplied by Emirates Insolaire will produce more than half of the Copenhagen International School's annual electricity.

Emirates Insolaire has announced that it has won the supply contract of over 12,000 coloured solar glass panels for Copenhagen International School. Courtesy Emirates Insolaire

A Dubai company has won an order to supply a solar glass facade to a school in Denmark in what is one of the largest projects of its kind in the world.

Now it wants to wants to introduce the same technology in buildings across the UAE.

Emirates Insolaire, a unit of Dubai Investments, will supply about 12,000 coloured solar glass panels to the Copenhagen International School.

Once fitted, the panels will create one of the largest photovoltaic (PV) facades of its kind, the company said.

The facade will supply more than half of the school’s annual electricity consumption, producing about 300 megawatt hours per year.

The panels are part of the building’s photovoltaic system, which allows solar panels to be integrated directly into building structures such as windows.

“The project is very important for Emirates Insolaire and offers the company significant inroads into Europe and the rest of the world for its unique technology,” said Rafic Hanbali, a managing partner of Emirates Insolaire. “Emirates Insolaire has brought in a paradigm shift in solar applications by introducing aesthetic appeal to facades coupled with added efficiency.”

Construction has started and is expected to be completed by the end of June.

It also plans to install its Kromatix technology on two buildings in Dubai Investments Park.

Mr Hanbali said the company was targeting a little more than 1 MW by the end of the year. “But what I expect is to have about 15,000 to 20,000 square metres of our technology installed on 10 to 15 buildings over the next 20 months in Dubai, and about 50,000 to 70,000 sq metres worldwide.”

He said the technology could meet from 10 to 50 per cent of a building’s energy requirements. In Dubai, each square metre will produce above 200 kWh annually.

Stephane Le Gentil, the chief executive of Etihad Esco, a Dubai Electricity and Water Authority joint venture service company, said the priority should be to reduce energy consumption. “We look at how to make savings, and then we’ll look at what we can do for alternative power,” he said.

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