Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) has published technical standards and regulations for private homes, businesses and public bodies to connect solar photovoltaic (PV) rooftop installations to the grid.

Manufacturers of solar and connection equipment are invited to register their products with Dewa, which will periodically review their performance and compatibility.

Dewa is collaborating with consultants and industry experts on the regulations. The technical specifications, designed to protect the grid, were released on 31 January.

Several parties had already contacted Dewa for clarification on the regulations, so interest is expected to be considerable.

Interested parties must use products that are compatible with Dewa’s standards before connecting to the grid. Dewa will review their standards to keep them up to date with technological developments.

Switzerland’s ABB began working on the project with Dewa three years ago. It signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Dewa in November 2014, and preliminary designs have been approved.

ABB is currently in the study phase, but will use a variety of solar panels and their own equipment for connections. It expects to complete its connection in two to three months.

“These are great regulations, a mixture of Italian and German systems,” says Paolo Mastrogiacomo, in charge of the project at ABB. “There weren’t any standards before, but now everybody can understand how to connect their installations to the grid.”

A procedure is in place on Dewa’s website for installations. Once a letter of no objection is received, interested parties can download technical standards and request inspections before gaining approval to connect to the grid.

Energy exported to the grid will be metered, and deducted from that month’s electricity bill. If exports exceed imports, the excess will be credited to the following month. The credit can be rolled over every month, but Dewa will never pay directly for electricity exports.

There is no limit to the size of installations, depending on the available grid connections for each site.

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