DP World, the Dubai-based global shipping terminal operator, has started construction of the largest distributed solar rooftop project in the Middle East with the installation of 88,000 rooftop solar panels on its Dubai facilities as part of its continued efforts to reduce its carbon emissions.

The Dubai group has appointed Green Energy Tomorrow, Phanes Group’s rooftop solar specialist, to deliver the solar panels on its warehouses, office buildings and car-parks in the Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) and Mina Rashid Port.

Once Phase One is completed in 2017, the project will provide enough clean power for 3,000 homes a year, according to DP World. It will result in 22,000 tonnes of carbon being saved annually, equivalent to taking 4,500 cars off the road. The solar panels will provide 40 per cent of the total energy consumption of Jafza, one of the world’s largest free trade zones.

After Phase One of the project is completed in 2017 (totalling 22 MW at peak), phases Two and Three will follow, with further solar installations due in Jafza and Mina Rashid, said the global shipping terminal operator.