If your factory, warehouse or farm has an industrial or agricultural account with Etihad Water and Electricity (EtihadWE), you can install rooftop solar panels. They connect to the grid, the public power network. EtihadWE's programme is called the Distributed Solar System. It covers the Northern Emirates, including Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. Every unit of power the panels make goes to the grid, and EtihadWE takes it off your monthly bill.
An EtihadWE rooftop solar system can be no bigger than 10% of your connected load, the most power your account can draw at once. An approved contractor, an installer EtihadWE has authorised, must apply for you. The homes of UAE nationals can also join, but offices, shops and other homes cannot join yet.
Joseph Smart Solar is a solar installer in Dubai, approved by EtihadWE. We are also enrolled with DEWA, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, to install rooftop solar in Dubai. We apply for and install these systems. Our parent company, Joseph Group, has worked in the UAE since 1979.
What is EtihadWE's rooftop solar programme?
EtihadWE's rooftop solar programme is called the Distributed Solar System (DSS). It lets some customers put solar panels on their roof and have the power taken off their monthly bill. EtihadWE says the programme was launched in July 2023 with the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure. Its rules, the DSS Connection Conditions, are version 1, dated September 2024.
EtihadWE is the electricity company for the Northern Emirates. Its solar rules describe it as the former Federal Electricity and Water Authority, so many people still call it FEWA. Check that your power bill comes from EtihadWE before you start. If it comes from DEWA in Dubai or from SEWA, Sharjah's power company, this programme does not apply to you.
The programme has three main rules:
- All your solar power goes to the grid. A second meter, the DSS meter, measures what the panels send out. Your main meter still measures what your site uses.
- Each month, EtihadWE subtracts your solar power from the power you used. The rules write it as Net = A - B, where A is the power you used and B is the power your panels made.
- Spare power becomes credit. WAM, the UAE news agency, reported that extra solar power is credited to your account for use within the same year.
Who can apply in 2027?
EtihadWE's current conditions, version 1 from September 2024, open the programme in phases. In the first phase, three customer classes can apply. Your customer class is the type of account EtihadWE has given you:
- Industrial customers, such as factories and warehouses on an industrial account. Industrial customers on a preferential discounted tariff, a special lower price for power agreed with EtihadWE, are not included.
- Agricultural customers, such as farms on an agricultural account. EtihadWE's service guide describes this class as land given to UAE citizens for farming only.
- Residential Local customers. EtihadWE's tariffs split home accounts into the homes of UAE citizens and the homes of expatriates. So this class means the homes of UAE nationals.
Offices, shops and the homes of residents who are not UAE nationals are not in this phase. A warehouse joins only if its EtihadWE account is in the industrial class, and a farm only if it is in the agricultural class. EtihadWE says it will announce other customer types later. Before you apply, check which version of the conditions is current. On etihadwe.ae, they are under About Us, then Distributed Solar Systems Initiative. If the cover still says Version 1, September 2024, the rules described here still apply.
If you are not sure which class you have, call EtihadWE on 800 3392 before you pay for a design. Ask two things: which customer class your account is in, and whether it has a preferential discounted tariff.
How big can your rooftop solar system be?
Two limits apply, and your system must stay within both:
- 10% of your connected load. Connected load is the most power your account can draw from the grid at once, as approved by EtihadWE. It is measured in kilowatts (kW).
- 1,000 kW at most, for each account.
A large factory reaches the 1,000 kW cap when its connected load reaches 10,000 kW, because 10% of 10,000 is 1,000. Below 10,000 kW of connected load, the 10% rule sets your limit. The same two limits apply in every emirate EtihadWE serves.
The size is measured at the inverters, the boxes that turn the panels' power into power the grid can use. It is the total output of the inverters, not the total size of the panels. The panels must go on a roof of the same property as the account, and nowhere else. For a farm, that means the roof of a store, a shed or another building, not open ground.
Here is a worked example, based on a warehouse enquiry we received from Umm Al Quwain. The warehouse wanted about 100 kWp of panels with about 80 kW of inverters. kWp, or kilowatt peak, is the most power the panels make in full sun.
- To allow 80 kW of inverters, the warehouse needs a connected load of at least 800 kW, because 10% of 800 is 80.
- If its connected load were 500 kW, the limit would be 50 kW of inverters.
- A kWh, or kilowatt hour, is the unit of electricity on your bill. The Global Solar Atlas is a free online map of solar output. It gives about 1,804 kWh a year for each kWp in Umm Al Quwain. So 100 kWp would make about 180,400 kWh a year.
- That is about 15,000 kWh in an average month. If the warehouse used 40,000 kWh that month, EtihadWE would bill it for about 25,000 kWh.
In Fujairah, the same map gives about 1,789 kWh a year for each kWp. So 100 kWp would make about 178,900 kWh a year.
Your connected load decides how big your system can be, so get the figure before you pay for a design. Call EtihadWE on 800 3392 with your account number and ask for your approved connected load in kW. You can also contact our team or email your latest EtihadWE bill to info.smartsolar@josephgroup.ae. We will find the figure and work out the limit for you.
How do you apply, step by step?
Before you choose a contractor, call EtihadWE on 800 3392 with your account number and check two things. First, your account must be industrial (but not on a preferential discounted tariff), agricultural, or the home of a UAE national. Second, 10% of its connected load must cover the inverter size you want.
EtihadWE's standards and guidelines set out 13 steps for an EtihadWE rooftop solar connection. Your approved contractor does most of them for you. We have grouped the 13 steps into eight:
- Choose an approved contractor. Only a contractor on EtihadWE's List of DSS Approved Contractors can apply for you. To check one, call EtihadWE on 800 3392 and give the contractor's company name. You can also send a WhatsApp message to +971 800 3392. Your chosen contractor then handles the site survey, the design, the approvals, the installation and the tests.
- The contractor files a pre-application with EtihadWE, with a processing fee. EtihadWE checks whether its local network has room for your system at the point where it connects. The pre-application approval is valid for 6 months from the date EtihadWE issues it.
- The contractor sends the full application to EtihadWE within those 6 months. It includes the electrical design, your account details and the panel and inverter details, with a processing fee. When EtihadWE finds it complete, it gives your system a place in its queue.
- The contractor sends the structural design to the municipality, the local building authority, for approval. The structural design shows how the panels are fixed to the roof.
- The contractor installs the system once EtihadWE and the municipality have both approved it. The municipality then inspects the finished work.
- EtihadWE inspects and tests the system before it connects to the grid.
- The connection fees are paid to EtihadWE once the system has passed the municipality's inspection and EtihadWE's inspection. EtihadWE charges these fees to you, so check whether your contractor's price includes them. Your contractor then asks EtihadWE to fit the DSS meter, the second meter that measures your solar power. The system runs on a trial basis while it is tested again.
- EtihadWE issues you a Permit to Operate, its approval to run the system. Your first solar billing month starts on that date.
The main equipment must be on EtihadWE's list of approved equipment. That covers the panels, the inverters, the cables and the safety equipment. The standards also set minimum warranties:
- Panels: a 10-year product warranty, which covers faults in the panel itself. Panels also need a 25-year performance warranty, which covers how much power they still make. Rated output is the power the maker says a panel makes. Panels must keep at least 90% of it for the first 10 years and 80% after 25 years.
- Inverters: a warranty of at least 5 years.
In Ras Al Khaimah, the municipality's Reem team also runs a Solar Support Programme. It gives technical and contract advice, help with choosing a solar company and running a tender, and training workshops. To join, open the Solar Support Programme page and tap the Click Here button marked "to participate in the Solar Support Programme". It opens a sign-up form. For questions, email info.eer@mun.rak.ae.
What documents does the application need?
Your contractor needs three things from you before the site survey:
- Your latest EtihadWE bill for the account at the property where the panels will go. It shows your account number.
- The property's address and its plot number, the number the municipality gave the plot. If you do not know it, ask your municipality.
- Access to the roof, so the contractor can measure it.
The contractor then fills in EtihadWE's forms. EtihadWE's standards list what each form must contain:
- For the pre-application, the contractor gives your details, its own details and the system's details. It adds a first design drawing and the point where the system connects to the grid.
- For the full application, it adds your EtihadWE account details and the panel and inverter details. EtihadWE also asks for a list of supporting documents, so ask your contractor which ones it needs from you.
EtihadWE's conditions make you responsible for getting your municipality's approval before you install. Your contractor gets it for you by sending the structural design to the municipality.
What can delay or stop a connection?
Four things can delay or stop a connection:
- The local network may be full. If your connection would overload EtihadWE's equipment, EtihadWE can refuse it. It can also give an estimate for upgrading the network. If EtihadWE refuses, its standards say it gives the reasons and meets your contractor to discuss changes that could allow the connection.
- There is a yearly limit. EtihadWE caps the total solar it connects each year. If the cap is reached, an approved system waits until the next calendar year. Applications are handled first come, first served. Your place in the queue is set when EtihadWE finds your full application complete.
- Big changes send you to the back of the queue. EtihadWE treats a major change after applying as a new application. Moving the point where the system connects to the grid is one example. Swapping a panel or inverter for one of the same size and rating does not count.
- Missing papers can cancel the application. If EtihadWE asks for missing documents and they arrive after the deadline it sets, it treats the application as withdrawn.
How does billing work, and when are credits lost?
Each month, EtihadWE takes the power your panels sent to the grid off the power your site used. You pay for the difference. If the panels made more, the extra becomes credit on your account for use within the same year. Your monthly statement shows both the power you used and the power your panels made. These rules decide what happens to the credit:
- Each system is linked to one account. You choose this account, the hosting account, when you apply. Pick an account on the property where the panels go, because its connected load sets your size limit.
- Your other accounts can share the credit, if they are your accounts on the same property. Ask EtihadWE how to add them, and choose the order in which they use the credit. After EtihadWE approves a change of order, you must wait 180 days to change it again.
- Credit is lost if the account closes. Any credit left after the final bill is not paid out.
- Credit does not move with the building. If you rent out or sell the property, you and the new tenant or owner can jointly ask EtihadWE to move the system to their account. Ask EtihadWE how to make this request. Any credit on your account is lost after your final bill, and none of it moves to their account.
- The conditions do not say what happens to credit still unused at the end of the year. If you plan a system that makes more than your site uses, call EtihadWE on 800 3392 first. Ask whether "the same year" means the calendar year or the 12 months from your Permit to Operate date. Then ask what happens to credit left over after it.
What does EtihadWE expect after switch-on?
EtihadWE's conditions ask you to have the system serviced at least once a year. That includes cleaning the panels and doing the checks the panel and inverter makers recommend. Repairs and equipment replacements must be done by an approved contractor.
EtihadWE can also disconnect the system while it maintains the network. It can send a remote signal to limit the system's output to meet the network's needs. EtihadWE does not pay for the power lost at those times.
How is EtihadWE rooftop solar different from Dubai's programme?
Dubai has its own rooftop solar programme, Shams Dubai, run by DEWA. It differs from EtihadWE's programme in three ways:
- Who approves it. In Dubai, DEWA approves rooftop solar, and a contractor on DEWA's list of enrolled solar contractors applies for you. In the Northern Emirates, EtihadWE approves it, and one of its approved contractors applies for you.
- Where the solar power goes. In Dubai, DEWA's FAQ says you can use the power your panels make yourself. The spare power goes to the grid. Under EtihadWE, all the solar power goes to the grid, and EtihadWE takes it off your bill each month.
- Who can join. DEWA's FAQ says panels can go on homes and on commercial or industrial premises. EtihadWE's first phase takes only industrial and agricultural accounts and the homes of UAE nationals.
If you have sites in both areas, ask your contractor whether it is on DEWA's list, EtihadWE's list, or both. Then ask how many EtihadWE rooftop systems it has already connected in your emirate. Ask to see the Permit to Operate for one of them.
What should you ask a solar contractor before you sign?
Ask your contractor these questions, and get each answer in writing:
- Are you on EtihadWE's List of DSS Approved Contractors? Check the answer yourself: call EtihadWE on 800 3392 and give the contractor's company name.
- What is my connected load, and what size does the 10% limit allow? Ask where the contractor got the figure, then confirm it with EtihadWE. The inverters should add up to no more than 10% of it, and never more than 1,000 kW.
- Is my account in a class that can join now? That means industrial, agricultural or the home of a UAE national, and not on a preferential discounted tariff.
- Are all the panels and inverters on EtihadWE's list of approved equipment? Ask for the make and model number of every panel and inverter. Then ask the contractor to show you each model on that list. Check the warranty papers too. Panels need at least 10 years on the product and 25 years on performance. They must keep 90% of rated output for 10 years and 80% after 25 years. Inverters need at least 5 years.
- Does your price include EtihadWE's processing fees, connection fees and DSS meter? EtihadWE charges you for the meter and connection, so ask who pays EtihadWE: you or the contractor.
- Who handles the municipality approval and the inspections? Under EtihadWE's standards, this is the contractor's job.
- Who does the yearly maintenance, and what does it include? It should include panel cleaning and the checks the panel and inverter makers recommend.
How does Joseph Smart Solar handle an EtihadWE application?
We are approved by EtihadWE, so we can file the application for you. Our team:
- Finds your customer class and connected load from your EtihadWE account.
- Surveys the roof and designs the system within EtihadWE's limits.
- Files the pre-application and the full application, and sends the structural design to the municipality.
- Installs the system with our own team and arranges the inspections.
- Monitors the system after switch-on, so we get an alert if output drops.
If your farm or site has no grid connection at all, our guide to off-grid solar and diesel generators covers that case. To compare installers across the UAE, see our list of solar companies in UAE.
To start, email your latest EtihadWE bill for the property and photos of the roof to info.smartsolar@josephgroup.ae. You can also reach us through our contact form. We will tell you how big your system can be and what the application needs.
Frequently asked questions
Is EtihadWE the same as FEWA?
Yes. EtihadWE, Etihad Water and Electricity, supplies power in the Northern Emirates, including Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. Its own rules call it the former Federal Electricity and Water Authority, which many people still call FEWA. If your power bill comes from EtihadWE, its rooftop solar programme, the Distributed Solar System, is the one for your area. For now, it is open only to industrial accounts not on a preferential discounted tariff, agricultural accounts and the homes of UAE nationals.
Can I use my own solar power directly under EtihadWE's programme?
No. All the power your panels make goes to the grid through a separate solar meter that EtihadWE fits. Each month, EtihadWE takes the solar power off the power you used. If your panels made more than you used, the extra is credited to your account for use within the same year.
Can residents who are not UAE nationals put solar on their homes?
Not in this first phase. EtihadWE's conditions allow industrial, agricultural and residential local customers. EtihadWE's tariffs split home accounts into the homes of UAE citizens and the homes of expatriates. So residential local means the homes of UAE nationals. EtihadWE says it will announce other customer types later.
What happens to my solar credit if I sell or rent out the building?
If you and the new owner or tenant send EtihadWE a joint request, the system can move to their account. Ask EtihadWE on 800 3392 how to send it. Any credit on your account is lost after the final bill. EtihadWE does not move it to their account or pay it out.
Can EtihadWE refuse to connect my rooftop solar system?
Yes. EtihadWE can refuse the connection if its local network has no room for your system. It can also give an estimate for upgrading the network. EtihadWE also caps the total solar it connects each year. If the cap is reached, an approved system waits until the next calendar year, first come, first served.
Do I need municipality approval for rooftop solar in the Northern Emirates?
Yes. EtihadWE's conditions make you responsible for getting approval from the authorities that license buildings and land use before you install. Your EtihadWE-approved contractor gets it for you by sending the structural design to the municipality. The municipality also inspects the system after installation.