UAE - Mubasher: Emirates Waste to Energy Company has penned an agreement to develop the landfill of Sharjah-headquartered Bee’ah, an environmental management company, into a solar farm.

The solar landfill project, the first of its kind in the UAE, will produce up to 120 megawatts (MW) of clean energy, according to a press release on Thursday.

Solar photovoltaic panels will be installed on top of Bee’ah’s Al Sa’jah landfill, close to the Sharjah Waste to Energy facility and Bee’ah’s Waste Management Complex.

Emirates Waste to Energy Company, a joint venture between Bee’ah and Masdar, will deliver the project across three phases, with the first phase due to be completed in 2023.

Under the terms of the lease agreement, the company will also offer operation and maintenance services to the project for a 25-year period.

The CEO of Masdar, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, said: "This project highlights how we can utilize closed landfills to deliver clean energy, while simultaneously supporting the UAE’s clean energy targets and UN Sustainable Development Goals."

Meanwhile, the Group CEO of Bee’ah and Chairman of the Emirates Waste to Energy Company, Khaled Al Huraimel, remarked: "As a pioneer of zero waste solutions, Bee’ah is looking to create new value from capped landfills while supporting the deployment of renewable energy in the UAE."