Saudi Arabia’s Pavilion attracted the admiration and interest of visitors to Dubai Expo 2020, and was the second largest exhibition in the Expo. In addition to its size of 13 thousand square meters, which is equivalent to the area of two football fields, it has an innovative and sustainable design that depends entirely on Renewable energy and zero carbon impacts. This qualified it to obtain the Platinum Leadership in Renewable Energy Designs “LEED” certification from the US Green Building Council (USGBC), and made it one of the most sustainable designs in the world. The advanced technologies also awarded the exhibition with three Guinness World Records awards, including the "most comprehensive interactive lighting floor", "the longest interactive water curtain" and "the largest interactive digital mirror" with an area of more than 1,240 square meters. The six-story Saudi exhibition was decorated with a roof with solar panels created by Desert Technologies, the logistic partner of the exhibition, where the company installed 650 solar panels manufactured at the company’s factory in Jeddah, in addition to building smart networks to provide the exhibition with an integrated series of solar energy systems that include Generation, transformation and distribution.
On this occasion Eng. Majid Al-Rifai, Group Chief Commercial Officer at Desert Technologies Group, stressed that the Kingdom planned to participate in the “Dubai Expo 2020” in a professional manner and mobilized qualified human resources to make its exhibition in the Opportunities area one of the most distinguished exhibitions. The roof made of solar panels is one of the important technological additions with the mission to provide clean, environmentally friendly energy by making the most of the sun’s rays. The Saudi exhibition also shows the Kingdom’s growth and prosperity with its young, renewable spirit and aspiration towards a prosperous future with its ambitious projects and its inspiring "Vision 2030".
Al-Rifaie explained: “Desert Technologies Group worked side by side with all relevant parties for the success of the Saudi exhibition, which strongly represents the welcoming character of the Kingdom and its deep-rooted culture. Its content design is based on four main pillars: the vibrant community linked to the Saudi roots, the ancient national heritage, the picturesque nature and future opportunities, showing how the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is shaping its future and the future of the world. In this context, the Desert Technologies Group and its advanced technology in Solar Energy has supplied and installed 650 solar panels with an approximate total of 195 kilowatts on the roof of the building. These panels are produced by the Desert Technologies Factory in Jeddah, the capacity of one panel is 300 watts, and it works using “mono perc” technology of the “All Black solar panel” type, and produces an energy of 262.3 MWh in the first year, and 5.96 GWh during the next 25 years.”
It is worth noting that the Saudi exhibition was inaugurated by Muhammad Mazyad Al-Tuwaijri, Advisor at the Royal Court and Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of the exhibition, in the presence of the Saudi Ambassador to the UAE Turki Al-Dakhil and the exhibition’s Commissioner-General, Eng. Hussein Hanbazaza. The exhibition offers the Kingdom through traditional arts, folk dances, handicrafts and masterpieces of Saudi cuisine, as well as great creative performances presented by the Saudi exhibition at its headquarters and in several parallel sites such as the Dubai Millennium Theater and the Dubai Exhibition Center. These include dazzling light shows, musical and poetry evenings, cultural salons, as well as renewable energy activities and Scientific programs and competitions for families and children. The Kingdom’s program over the next six months will include an active participation in all dialogues and forums held on the sidelines of the Expo which will chart a better future for the world, with the participation of the Saudi private sector in addition to all relevant state institutions.