Today's Edition
SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)
A team of engineering students in the UAE has developed a system that combines solar and wind power to bring electricity to remote communities.
Their Hybrid Renewable Energy Lighting System charges in just 52 minutes, storing enough power to run lights, charge phones, or power small appliances - giving families in off-grid areas access to services many take for granted.
"Our goal was not simply to build another prototype, but to demonstrate how engineering can deliver practical solutions that improve everyday lives," said the team from the Electrical Engineering Department at Khalifa University of Science and Technology.
The group includes electrical engineering students Nawwaf Safwan Alsebaiha and Khalifa Yousif Almazrouei, along with Hamid Abdalla Albastaki and Saif Alhammadi, who are studying engineering systems and management. The project was supervised by Dr Ammar Nayfeh and Dr Tarek El Fouly.
The idea, they said, was to build a practical energy solution using resources that are readily available - even abundant - in nature.
"Rather than relying on a single energy source, we combined solar and wind power to create a system that continues generating electricity even when weather conditions change," the team told Aletihad.
Combining two renewable sources, however, means dealing with two different sets of fluctuating output. To address this, the team designed independent control systems for the solar and wind components before merging them into a single battery system, with protection mechanisms installed to ensure safety and stability.
A cylindrical solar panel collects sunlight from multiple directions, while a companion wind turbine keeps the system generating electricity even when sunlight is limited. This makes the innovation more resilient than conventional solar-only setups, the team explained.
That standout feature, paired with a charging time of 52 minutes, means faster access to electricity for communities that depend on limited or unstable energy sources.
"Because the system has been designed with maintainability in mind, many components can be replaced individually, reducing long-term operating costs and making local maintenance more practical," the team added.
It's also scalable, they said, as its modular design allows it to be expanded for schools, clinics and other community facilities.
The team will next focus on real-world testing, technical refinement, and industry collaboration.
"We would like to evaluate multiple units in different environmental conditions, refine the design, improve battery performance, and integrate remote monitoring capabilities that enable predictive maintenance," they said.
Continued development and industry partnerships, the team added, could help bring the technology to a wider market. "We believe the technology has strong commercialisation potential and could become an affordable off-grid renewable energy solution for communities around the world."
