Experts at the Research and Development (R&D) Centre of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) have underscored the key applications of the Space-D programme, which was launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on January 12, 2021.

Credit: SolarQuarter

During the ‘Research in Spotlight’ series, researchers provided DEWA employees with insights into the programme’s objectives, emphasizing its importance in enhancing DEWA’s capabilities and training Emirati professionals to utilize space technologies for improving electricity and water networks. The programme leverages Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain, to facilitate information exchange through satellite communications and earth observation technologies.

DEWA employees learned how innovations from the R&D Centre, as part of the Space-D programme, can be used in electricity and water networks. These innovations enable condition-based assessments of distribution transformers, monitoring and pre-fault detection at secondary substations, increased visibility and fault detection in distribution networks, enhanced planning at generation and desalination plants, and the detection of water leaks.

The advancements also improve data collection and monitoring of photovoltaic (PV) solar power plants and electric vehicle charging stations. Additionally, they assist with PV solar forecasting, fog detection for better transmission operation planning, and monitoring of transmission lines and infrastructure changes. The Space-D programme significantly boosts the performance and efficiency of PV solar panels at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, recognized as the largest single-site solar park globally.

As part of the Space-D initiative, DEWA successfully launched two nanosatellites, both developed by Emirati engineers at the R&D Centre. The programme includes a ground station located at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, along with IoT and AI technologies to support ground communication in electricity and water networks. This infrastructure aims to enhance DEWA’s planning and operational efficiency, improve maintenance across its production, transmission, and distribution divisions, and upgrade its smart grids and electric vehicle charging stations.

DEWA has deployed multi-spectrum, high-resolution devices designed for electricity and water networks to provide thermal imaging of high-voltage transmission lines, substations, buildings, and solar power stations. The R&D team is focused on developing expertise in employing IoT nanosatellite constellations to better manage power grid and water transmission and distribution networks.

The first nanosatellite, DEWA SAT-1, was launched in January 2022. This 3U nanosatellite was designed to assess the ability to gather data from distributed assets in areas with limited terrestrial connectivity, utilizing direct-to-satellite long-range (LoRa) communication from specially designed IoT terminals. Its applications include monitoring substation conditions, integrating weather stations, and surveilling water transmission lines, with collected data presented on custom dashboards.

In April 2023, DEWA launched its second nanosatellite, DEWA SAT-2, which provides high-resolution imagery and greenhouse gas measurements for remote sensing. This nanosatellite monitors seawater temperature and salinity, detects oil spills and red tides near desalination intakes, performs fog estimation and forecasting, and tracks the progress of construction projects. Insights from DEWA SAT-2 are made available to DEWA’s operations team via a dedicated Space-D portal.

The Space-D programme also encompasses the design, construction, and testing of IoT terminals tailored for utility applications and efficient communication with nanosatellites. The R&D Centre is developing on-board satellite receivers for communication with IoT terminals, along with edge analytics applications to predict faults and analyze power quality on low-voltage network feeders. The centre also selects appropriate sensor and measurement technologies for IoT applications, providing high-resolution imaging and data storage, processing, and analytics through DEWA’s private cloud. The nanosatellites are operated from a ground station located at the R&D Centre.