Free Solar · Power Purchase Agreement
Free solar in Dubai: AED 0 upfront, a smaller bill from day one
A power purchase agreement (PPA) puts solar on your roof at our cost. You simply buy the electricity it produces at a rate below DEWA's.
Who it suits
One agreement, built for two kinds of roof
The PPA logic is identical whether the roof belongs to a villa or a warehouse: our capital, our risk, your discount. What changes is why it makes sense.
For homes
Villas & townhouses
You like the idea of solar. You are less keen on writing a five-figure cheque for it. A PPA suits owners who plan to stay put, want the DEWA bill down now, and are happy for someone else to own and look after the kit on the roof.
There is nothing for you to service, nothing to insure and no performance risk. You pay only for power the system actually produces, at a rate below what DEWA charges you for the same units.
For business
Offices to warehouses
Capital belongs in your business, not on your roof. A PPA cuts an operating cost from day one with AED 0 capex, keeps the asset off your balance sheet, and hands maintenance and insurance to the provider for the whole term.
Finance teams get a predictable per-kWh rate below DEWA's commercial tariff. Operations teams get a system that is someone else's job to clean, monitor and repair.
How the numbers work
You keep a fixed share of every dirham solar displaces
No catch, no small print pricing. The PPA rate is set one way, and it is worth understanding before you sign anything, ours or anyone else's.
The pricing logic, in plain words
Not all your DEWA units cost the same: home tariffs climb through slabs from 23 to 38 fils/kWh, and every unit carries a fuel surcharge of about 6 fils. Solar wipes out your most expensive units first.
We work out the blended rate of the units your system displaces, then price the PPA 25% below it. Every kWh the roof produces, you buy cheaper than you were already buying it from the grid. If the system produces nothing, you pay nothing.
A worked villa example
A 4-bedroom detached villa using about 3,000 kWh a month runs a DEWA bill of roughly AED 920: 2,000 kWh in the Green band at 23 fils, 1,000 kWh in the Yellow band at 28 fils, plus the fuel surcharge of about 6 fils on every unit.
A ≈19 kWp rooftop system covers essentially all of that consumption. Under a PPA the villa keeps 25% of the displaced spend: about AED 230 a month, roughly AED 2,760 a year, with AED 0 paid upfront.
Estimates, not a quote. Final figures depend on a site survey and DEWA approval. Run your own numbers with the savings calculator, or verify tariffs at dewa.gov.ae.
The honest limitations
Free at the point of installation, not free of trade-offs
A PPA is the right answer for many roofs and the wrong answer for some. Here is what to weigh before you sign.
You don't own it during the term
The system on your roof belongs to the provider until the term ends. That is the whole deal: our capital, our risk, your discount. Ownership options apply at the end: typically extend, buy out at a pre-agreed value, or have the system removed.
If owning the asset matters to you, buying will suit you better.
The term is long
10 to 25 years is a commitment, and the biggest lifetime saving always belongs to owners who buy outright. If you can deploy the capital and plan to stay, compare both routes before choosing the convenient one.
A PPA trades some lifetime saving for zero upfront cost and zero hassle.
Read the clauses before signing
Ask how the rate moves over time (fixed, or escalating annually) and what happens if you sell the property: transfer to the buyer, or a buyout formula. Any provider unwilling to put those clauses in plain language is telling you something.
We put both clauses, in figures, in every proposal.
Side by side
PPA or buying: the same villa, both routes
Figures below use the worked 4-bedroom villa example (3,000 kWh a month, a ≈19 kWp system) and the calculator's assumptions.
| Comparison point | Free solar (PPA) | Buying your system |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | AED 0 | ≈ AED 57,000 for the worked villa system |
| Who owns it | The provider, during the term; ownership options at the end | You, from day one |
| Who maintains & insures | The provider (included in the rate) | You: light work, mostly panel cleaning; 25-year panel warranties typical |
| Monthly saving | ≈ AED 230 on the worked villa | ≈ AED 920 on the worked villa (the whole bill) |
| Lifetime saving | ≈ AED 88,000 over 25 years | ≈ AED 297,000 over 25 years, net of the purchase price |
| Best for | Bill relief now, no capital tied up, nothing to manage | The biggest lifetime return and an asset you own |
Estimates, not a quote. Final figures depend on a site survey and DEWA approval. Lifetime figures assume 2% annual tariff drift, per the calculator's assumptions.
Not sure?
The ownership route pays back in 4–6 years and then the power is yours. See the same villa worked through as a purchase, with payback and lifetime figures.
Questions
Asked before every PPA is signed
What happens at the end of the PPA term?
You choose. Typical options are extending the agreement, buying the system at a pre-agreed or fair-market value, or having it removed. The options and any buyout formula are written into the agreement before you sign, so there are no surprises in year fifteen.
Does the PPA rate change over the term?
It depends on the agreement: some fix the rate for the full term, others include an annual escalation. Ask for the escalation clause in writing and check it against DEWA's published tariffs before signing. We put the rate, and exactly how it moves, in plain figures in every proposal.
What happens if I sell my property during the term?
The agreement usually transfers to the new owner; a working solar system with a below-DEWA rate is a selling point, not a liability. If the buyer prefers not to take it on, a buyout at a pre-agreed value applies. Check both clauses before signing anything; we make them explicit.
What if the system underperforms or breaks?
That is the provider's problem, not yours. Under a PPA you pay only for electricity actually produced and delivered; if output drops, your payment drops with it. Repairs, monitoring and insurance stay the provider's responsibility for the whole term.
AED 0 down.
A smaller DEWA bill from the first month.
Sixty seconds of questions, a free survey, and a proposal with the rate and clauses in plain figures. No calls; we work by email.