DEWA seeks to boost cooperation with India in renewable and clean energy
A high-level delegation from Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), headed by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, is visiting India to promote opportunities for joint cooperation in the renewable and clean energy sectors.The delegation includes Waleed Salman, Executive Vice President-Strategy & Business Development; Dr. Yousef Al Akraf, Executive Vice President -Business Support & HR, Mohammed Abdulkarim Alshamsi, Senior Manager – Sustainability & Climate Change, and Ahmed Abdullah, Senior Manager of External Communication at DEWA.Al Tayer delivered a note at a high level meeting in New Delhi attended by HE Ahmad Al Falahi, Commercial Attache at the UAE Embassy in India, representatives of Indian companies operating in the energy, water and environment sectors, Confederation of Indian Industry, UAE India Business Council, and India Green Building Council.
Al Tayer’s invitation for participation in DEWA’s initiatives and events was warmly welcomed by Indian companies.
“It is an honour to be here in India and to address you all here today. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all members of the UAE Embassy in India, who have tirelessly promoted our great nation and worked so hard to further strengthen the ties of friendship between our countries. The leadership of the UAE and India are committed to supporting and strengthening bilateral relations for the benefit of the people in both countries. Indian companies and investors in the UAE play an important role in fostering ties of friendship, and personal and business relationships. This is reflected positively in economic and trade cooperation between the two countries to serve our common interests. I come here today with the hope to add to these strong ties and to share our common goal to achieve a better, sustainable future for generations to come,” said Al Tayer.
“His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, have both mandated that renewables and sustainability are essential to the future of our nation. The UAE leadership places great importance on environmental issues that contribute to the sustainable development of the UAE. Through the UAE Vision 2021 we aim to become one of the best countries in the world by 2021. The long-term Green Economy for Sustainable Development initiative, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, supports a diversified economy based on knowledge and innovation, while saving natural resources and the environment. This in turn strengthens the UAE’s global competitiveness, especially in renewable energy, and green economy technologies and products. In line with the Dubai Plan 2021, the Emirate aims to be a role model to the world by supporting Dubai’s economic growth through secure energy supply & efficient energy use and meeting environmental & sustainability objectives,” he added.
“Last year, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, to make Dubai a global centre for clean energy and green economy. The Strategy aims to provide 7% of Dubai’s energy from clean energy sources by 2020. This target will increase to 25% by 2030 and 75% by 2050. A strategy with ambitious goals and clear five main pillars that consists of: Infrastructure, legislation, funding, building capacities and skills, environment friendly energy mix. The first, Infrastructure, includes initiatives such as the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is the largest single-site project to generate electricity from solar energy in the world, with a planned capacity of 5,000 MW by 2030, and total investment of 13.6 billion US dollars (AED 50 billion) to save approximately up to 6.5 million tonnes per annum in emissions,” said Al Tayer.
“Furthermore, His Highness has committed a 136-million dollar (AED 500 million) fund that will be invested directly in Research and Development for next-generation clean energy sources. Dubai will host the Solar Decathlon Middle East in 2018 and 2020 to bring solar power and sustainability even closer together through innovation. Our strategy involves moving from a carbon-intensive economy to a greener one, by the Dubai Green Fund, which is worth 27 billion dollars, encouraging green investment and green growth. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) established the Etihad Energy Service Company (Etihad ESCO) to boost the model of energy performance contracts by providing financial organisations the opportunity to invest in energy efficient projects and obtain attractive returns, with the new regulatory framework ensuring that all risks are addressed. Financial institutions can become active partners in the sustainable development vision of Dubai, with plans to retrofit more than 30,000 buildings to make them energy efficient. Through our Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), the world’s largest district cooling services provider, we are trying to highlight the benefits of district cooling for both public and private sectors around the world as there is an urgent need to consolidate efforts to address the challenges facing the energy sector and create new business opportunities in renewable and clean energy sectors. Reiterating our commitment to Sustainable Development goals, The UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia) was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 2015, to help millions of underprivileged people, who are in desperate need of drinkable water around the world. This initiative also has an annual US$1 million global award to find sustainable solutions to water scarcity around the world,” he added.
“In Dubai, we work towards achieving the Smart Dubai initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to make Dubai the smartest city in the world. DEWA is doing this with three smart initiatives. The first, called Shams Dubai, to install solar panels in houses and buildings and connect them to DEWA’s grid. Through Shams Dubai initiative we have launched many solar rooftop projects, among them is the recently launched PV project which is one of the largest PV projects on a single roof top in our M-station, with a total capacity of 1.5 MW. The second is Smart Applications through smart grids and meters. The third is the EV Green Charger initiative, which includes installing 100 electric vehicle charging stations across the Emirate to support the use of electric vehicles in Dubai. The smart grid is a key element in DEWA’s strategy to develop an advanced infrastructure to support Dubai becoming a smart city. Smart Grid also supports our target is to reduce energy consumption by 30% by 2030. The smart grid strategy contains eleven programmes with a total investment of 2 Billion US Dollars that will be completed over the short-, medium- and long-term, from 2014 to 2020,” noted Al Tayer.
“To contribute to organising the best World Expo in 2020, in Dubai, DEWA has also allocated over AED 2.6 billion (US dollars 708 Million) to support electricity, water and renewable energy infrastructure projects, according to the highest international standards. In Dubai, we established new public-private partnership (PPP) guidelines for investment, using the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model. We are looking to create more opportunities like this, based on an internationally-recognised model. Through this model DEWA has set a world record by obtaining the lowest price globally, at USD 5.6 cents per kilowatt (kW) for the second phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. Shuaa Energy 1 is a company established by DEWA to complete the project according to UAE legislation. The ACWA Power and Harbin Electric consortium was the Preferred Bidder for the first and second phases of the 2,400MW Hassyan clean coal power project. The plant will be the first-of-its-kind in the region and is fully-compliant with set international standards, adopting the use of ultra- supercritical technology. DEWA has also awarded a contract for the turnkey construction of the Jebel Ali M-Station expansion. The project is worth AED1.47 billion (US$400 million). The project will be completed by end of April 2018. M-station is the newest and largest power production and desalination plant in the United Arab Emirates, with a current total capacity of 2,060 MW of electricity and 140 million imperial gallons of water per day. The expansion project includes new power generation units with a capacity of 700 MW to be added to the current capacity of the station to eventually produce 2,760 MW by 2018” concluded Al Tayer.
The event included a presentation on UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia), which aims to provide access to fresh drinking water to 5 million people who suffer from an acute shortage of potable water. It also highlighted the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award, and its role in motivating hard work in the humanitarian and development field, as a commitment to global humanitarian mission.
The Dubai Solar Show, organised by DEWA in conjunction with the 18th Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX), in Dubai from 4 to 6 October 2016 was also highlighted during the meeting. WETEX is held under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance, and President of DEWA. Under the umbrella of the 3rd Green Week 2016, WETEX has become a platform, enabling energy players to have global conversations, promote the concept of sustainability in energy, water, environment, green economy, development, and smart cities.
The significant development of solar photovoltaic technology, combined with a 75% drop in costs over the past 10 years, has made it an extremely attractive economic option in various parts of the world. WETEX 2016 will see wide participation by international companies, building on its position as an ideal platform for green solutions and products. This comes at a time when Dubai and the UAE are implementing promising projects to accelerate green growth. WETEX attracts large groups of international participants based on its 17-year reputation, which has made it one of the major and globally-recognised specialist exhibitions in energy, water and environment.
Dubai Solar Show will be a key platform for the public and private sectors to make deals, build partnerships, review the latest solar-energy technologies, learn about current and future projects in the region and market needs, and explore opportunities to take part in solar-energy projects and programmes. Organising the show in conjunction with WETEX and the World Green Economy Summit is a chance to reach thousands of exhibitors, participants, officials, and decision makers in the UAE, the Arabian Gulf, and the Middle East as a whole. Participants and visitors can avail of the busy agendas of the two events which feature conferences, workshops, and specialised activities. They can also meet experts and specialists from around the world to discuss developing solar energy and expanding its adoption in the region to achieve the sustainable development.
