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DEWA’s mosque in Hatta sets third world record · DEWA Podcasts

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  Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today, we're looking
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  at a single building that's really done something
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  quite unique globally in sustainability. Our
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  mission is to unpack the, well, the record -breaking
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  achievements of the Al -Rayyan Mosque in Hadda.
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  It's championed by Dubai Electricity and Water
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  Authority, and we're focusing on its sustainable
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  design. Yeah, this is a really significant story.
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  What the sources show is a big step forward in
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  urban sustainability. It demonstrates how public
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  buildings, you know, specifically a place of
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  worship here, can set, well, basically a gold
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  standard for environmental design worldwide.
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  And the really grabbing part is just how successful
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  it's been. We're talking three separate world
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  records for environmental leadership from just
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  one site. OK, let's start with the latest one.
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  The big news from November 2025. The Ahran Mosque
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  is the world's first place of worship to get
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  the LD zero carbon certification. That's from
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  the U .S. Green Buildings Council. Right. And
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  lead to zero carbon, it's important to understand,
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  goes way beyond just net zero. It means the building
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  is actively helping the environment recover.
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  In this case, the mosque offsets an incredible
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  175 percent of its annual carbon emissions. 175
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  percent. Wow. Yeah. So it's giving back much
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  more clean energy than it consumes. It really
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  makes it a model for restorative architecture
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  globally. That is genuinely revolutionary. So
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  to understand how they got there, we should probably
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  look back at the earlier records. Good idea.
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  Before zero carbon back in 2024, it was already
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  the world's first religious site to achieve LED
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  zero energy certification. Zero energy. So that
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  means... That means it generated 150 % of its
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  own energy needs, mostly using very efficient
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  solar PV panels. The system they have, the monitoring
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  shows the PV panels have a total capacity of
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  158 kilowatt peak, which is a measure of the
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  maximum output. It's a serious setup. Okay, 158
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  kilowatt peak. Even before that, wasn't there
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  an initial LED rating? Exactly. Back in 2021,
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  it made history as the world's first mosque to
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  get the LED platinum rating for green buildings.
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  That's the LED BD plus CV4 standard. It scored
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  83 points then for its actual design and the
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  materials used in construction. Right. So platinum
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  is about how it's built and then zero energy
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  and zero carbon are about how it performs day
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  to day. That's a perfect way to put it. And that
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  performance comes from smart design choices.
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  Things like advanced heatproof glass, really
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  efficient building facades to cut down energy
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  use dramatically. They also integrated solar
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  -powered water heaters and used materials with
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  a high solar reflectance index, SRI. SRI, that's
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  about reflecting sunlight, right? Keeping the
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  building cooler. Precisely. It reflects the sun's
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  heat, reduces how much the building absorbs,
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  which is critical in places like Hata, cuts down
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  the air conditioning needs significantly. They
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  also maximize... daylight inside to lower electricity
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  consumption for lighting, used recycled construction
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  materials, and installed modern water purification
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  and treatment systems. It really sounds like
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  every detail was considered. And just for context,
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  the building itself covers 1 ,050 square meters.
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  Yes, 1 ,050 square meters. It can hold over 600
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  worshippers. It also has a 25 -meter minaret,
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  accessible facilities, parking, even green chargers
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  for vehicles. It's designed as part of the community.
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  Now, achieving all this, especially those performance
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  certifications, that must require some serious
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  strategic backing. Let's bring in the perspective
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  from the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority
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  leadership. Absolutely. This wasn't accidental.
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  It's clearly part of a larger plan. There's a
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  statement here from His Excellency Saeed Mohammed
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  Altair that really lays out the vision. His Excellency
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  Saeed Mohammed Altair, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity
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  and Water Authority, said, Under the wise directives
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  of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al
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  Nahyan, President of the UAE, and His Highness
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  Sheikh Mohammed bin Rushd Al Maktoum, Vice President
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  and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai,
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  we work to reach a greener future. At Dubai Electricity
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  and Water Authority, we are proud to translate
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  this vision into reality, advancing climate action,
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  sustainable urban development, and the UAE's
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  journey towards net zero. Al Ryan Moss contributes
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  to creating a positive and sustainable impact
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  on the environment, making it a model for sustainable,
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  environmentally friendly buildings. That quote
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  really emphasizes the connection between this
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  specific project and the broader national goals.
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  And there's more on how it fits into the urban
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  strategy. His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al -Tayr
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  added, We are keen to fulfill all our economic,
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  social, and environmental commitments and to
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  support efforts to make Dubai an advanced and
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  sustainable future city that relies on the latest
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  technologies to preserve natural resources, enhance
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  electricity and water efficiency, and improve
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  quality of life. Dubai Electricity and Water
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  Authority is among the first organizations in
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  Dubai to adopt the concept of green buildings.
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  Today, we have 10 green buildings within LEED
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  rating and are committed to increasing the number
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  of sustainable buildings that take into account
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  environmental aspects in their design and are
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  powered by clean and renewable energy. So you
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  see, it connects directly to the Dubai 2040 plan,
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  the HADA development plan. It's reinforcing the
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  UAE's strategic vision for sustainable cities
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  and the big goal. Net zero by 2050. The Al -Rayyan
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  Mosque is really a tangible example, a proof
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  point that this kind of high performance, even
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  restorative building is achievable. Restorative.
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  That word really sticks out. So thinking about
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  the implications, what should this signal to
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  others? I mean, if a place of worship can achieve
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  this standard, offsetting 175 percent of its
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  carbon. Shouldn't we start asking if all new
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  major infrastructure, public and private, could
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  aim for this restorative level? That's the provocative
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  question, isn't it? Moving beyond just less bad
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  to actually doing good. It could completely change
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  how we calculate the value and impact of sustainable
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  building. Yeah. Something for all of us to think
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  about. Thank you for joining us for this deep
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  dive into the world's first LE zero carbon certified
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  place of worship.