Dubai: Nestlé signs agreements with Yellow Door Energy, ALEC Energy

Nestlé has signed agreements, witnessed by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), with Dubai-based Yellow Door Energy, provider of lease-to-own solar power solutions, and ALEC Energy, a DEWA-approved solar contractor, to install solar PV panels that will provide renewable energy to three manufacturing sites in Dubai, and contribute to the reduction of 6mn kgs of CO2 emission annually.

The move is in accordance with Nestlé’s commitment to the RE100 initiative, a global collaborative initiative of influential businesses committed to using 100% renewable energy. It is also in line with DEWA’s Shams Dubai initiative, which calls for the installation of solar panels connected to DEWA’s grid, for electricity use on site and exporting surpluses to the network.

The lease-to-own model enables Nestlé to benefit from solar power with no upfront capital investment, protect the environment, reduce the carbon footprint, as well as reduce costs. The contracts are to design, install, operate, and maintain a total of over 7MW of solar power at Nestlé Middle East Manufacturing in Dubai South, Nestlé Dubai Manufacturing, and the Nestlé Waters factory at National Industries Park.

Yves Manghardt, Nestlé Middle East chairman and CEO, said: “One of our commitments to society in the Middle East is to provide climate change leadership and promote resources efficiency, which will be further met as our factories in Dubai soon significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions as we get closer to our ambition to shape sustainable consumption and steward resources for future generations. Everything we do at Nestlé aims at Creating Shared Value, and this is an excellent example of how collaboration between several entities positively impacts their business, as well as the environment and society at large.”

James Stewart, general manager of ALEC Energy, said: “To meet Nestlé’s ambitious renewable energy goals, the ALEC Energy team produced an innovative, cost-effective, and efficient design matching Nestlé’s ambitious renewable energy targets. With completion targeted for the end of 2018, we will be using the best available technology for the system components, solar panels, and inverters, and will enhance the system reliability by connecting it directly to the DEWA network.”

Jeremy Crane, CEO of Yellow Door Energy, said: “Yellow Door Energy helps companies like Nestlé leverage solar energy through lease-to-own agreements, where we invest in, manage and operate the solar plant in order the maximise the energy generation and align with the customers’ energy needs.”

Once fully operational, the solar power plants are expected to produce 30,000 units of electricity daily, which would contribute to the reduction of 6mn kgs of CO2 emission annually. That’s the equivalent of eliminating the carbon emissions of over 1,000 passenger cars for one year, or the energy consumption of 1,000 homes annually.