Who said you can’t power your petrol station using nothing but the sun?

Certainly not the Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), who last week opened the UAE’s first fully solar-powered petrol station.

Located on Sheikh Zayed Road, at the intersection leading into Dubai Media City, the newly-opened station “is committed to environmental sustainability and energy efficiency standards” read a statement from the company posted to their official Instagram account.

It also means there’s now finally a petrol station near Dubai Media City.

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Officials from ENOC marking the opening for the UAE’s first solar-powered petrol station

The station is covered in PhotoVoltaic solar panels that generate up to 120 kilowatt hours of electricity on a clear, sunny day.

In fact, the station is so energy efficient that it generates around 30 percent more energy than it needs, directing the excess back into the city’s power grid.

Here are some ‘green’ facts about the city’s first solar-powered petrol station

*30% of the additional energy generated by the station is directed back into the DEWA power grid

*Cumulative energy savings of a whopping 201,723kWh per year. That’s 3,827 LED light bulbs emitting continuous light for a whole year

*A vapour recovery system converts 70% of fumes back into fuel. That’s equates to 20,000 litres of petrol annually – enough to drive a car around the world 7 times.

*The station is equipped with state-of-the-art electric vehicle charging docks

*The car washing facility exclusively uses recycled water

*195 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions reduced annually – the equivalent of planting a hectare of tropical rainforest

Image credit: WAM