Gov’t rolls out rules for linking solar panels to the grid

Citizens and some agricultural and industrial users can now link their solar panels to the national electricity grid, under a new ministerial law (pdf) issued by Energy and Infrastructure Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei. The law sets guidelines for linking distributed energy resources (DERs), permitting users to connect up to 10% of their approved electric load, with each unit capped at 1 MW.

Who can link their PVs to the national grid? Residential, agricultural, and industrial users are eligible to connect their DERs to the grid. Agricultural users must request a connection for buildings with no commercial activity, while industrial users are excluded if they already benefit from an industrial support initiative.

The requirements: To connect, users must get approval from Etihad Water and Electricity (EtihadWE) and sign an agreement. They’ll need two meters: one to measure the electricity exported from their panels to EtihadWE’s network and another to measure the electricity supplied from the grid to their DER. The energy supplied by the grid will be subtracted from the energy generated by the DER for monthly billing purposes.

Before installing the panels, users must hire a licensed consultant and installer and get approval for building and rooftop usage from the relevant authorities.

Don’t expect financial compensation for exported electricity — just offsets on the electricity bill.