HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) gave a keynote speech in a session titled ‘Meeting the UAE’s Renewable Energy Targets’ at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2017. HE Suhail Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy, was present.
Al Tayrer highlighted DEWA’s strategies and projects to achieve Dubai’s and the UAE’s renewable energy objectives, decrease dependence on fossil fuels, and reduce emissions.
“I am pleased to be here today to review the progress of our promising initiatives and projects in clean and renewable energy, which are expanding the energy sector to make the UAE the most sustainable nation in the world. These achievements support the directives of our wise leadership, represented by 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, to shape the future and achieve the UAE Vision 2021 to make the UAE one of the best countries in the world by 2021. The energy sector is a major element of our economic, environmental, and social development. The biggest challenge that governments will face in the future is meeting their growing energy needs, enhance energy security and sustainability and mitigating their environmental effects," said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.
“In Dubai, we are diversifying to increase the share of clean energy in our energy mix. In November 2015, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to provide 7% of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy by 2020, 25% by 2030 and 75% by 2050. Dubai is the only city in the Middle East and North Africa to launch such a strategy, with specific targets and deadlines that outline the future of energy in Dubai until 2050. Recently, the clean and renewable energy sector has developed considerably, so we are preparing to bid farewell to the last drop of oil. We are making major technological advances in energy and making the most of solar power. We are also committed to the global environment by reducing our carbon footprint. This promise is stated in the Dubai Carbon Abatement Strategy with a target to reduce carbon emissions by 16% by 2021, and we are encouraging Research and Development (R&D) in solar energy, as the UAE in strategically located within the Sunbelt. One of the major solar energy projects in Dubai is the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is the largest single-site solar park in the world, with a planned capacity of 5,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030. It will help reduce 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually,” added Al Tayer.
“We have made significant achievements in our plans with the Solar Park’s ongoing projects. The 13MW first phase of the solar park became operational in October 2013. On 28 November 2015, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum inaugurated the 200MW second phase of the solar park. By mid-December 2016, we had completed 80% of this phase. It is the largest and biggest project of its kind to be developed based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model, and will be operational by April 2017. DEWA has set a world record by obtaining the lowest price globally for the second phase, at USD 5.6 cents per kilowatt hour (kW/h). DEWA set another world record with the lowest recorded bid being USD 2.99 cents per kW/h for the 800MW third phase of the park, which will be operational by 2020, based on the IPP model. DEWA intends to build the largest Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project in the world, based on the IPP model. DEWA has released a tender for leading international CSP consultants to submit their proposals for advisory services for the 200MW first project of the CSP plant. It will be operational by April 2021, and DEWA will generate 1,000MW using this technology by 2030,” said Al Tayer.
“DEWA is also developing an interactive innovation centre at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. It will be equipped with the latest technologies in clean and renewable energy, to enhance national skills in the energy sector, business competitiveness, and society awareness about renewable and sustainable energy. The project will be completed this year,” continued Al Tayer.
“The R&D centre was launched in 2014. It is currently under construction and will be completed by 2020. The centre will conduct studies for industrial and social requirements. It will enable scientific research by linking researchers, academics and developers, and devising strategies for innovative and productive ideas. It has two testing facilities, one for photovoltaic solar testing and the other for CSP. The centre is currently testing 30 photovoltaic panels from global specialist manufacturers to check the properties, analyse the results, and use them in research and development. It collaborates with international organisations on soiling and dust mitigation on photovoltaic equipment. The tests are currently being performed to set a baseline for the development of specifications, tests and standards for photovoltaic equipment. The R&D centre will focus on four key operations. These include producing electricity using solar energy, integration of smart grids, developing sustainable solutions to produce water using solar energy, and improve energy efficiency. We consider demand side management a key factor in improving energy efficiency and ensuring its environmental and economic sustainability in terms of savings, improving operations, and enhancing the efficiency of solar energy. DEWA cooperates with partners and educational institutions all over the world, to invest in innovation and creativity, and works to develop the next generation’s access to solar energy through initiatives such as the Solar Decathlon Middle East. This competition will encourage university teams to present their latest innovations to develop the solar houses of the future. Dubai will host two rounds of the Solar Decathlon, which will be held for the first time in the Middle East and North Africa, in 2018 and again in 2020 to coincide with World Expo 2020 in Dubai. Competition prizes will make a total of AED 10 million,” said Al Tayer.
“DEWA has signed several MoUs with international organisations to train DEWA employees in Europe, and the USA, to exchange expertise and learn about the latest international developments in energy, water, and environment, and enhance knowledge exchange with international organisations. DEWA sent several its engineers to international institutions to study renewable energy. DEWA cooperates with the International Renewable Energy Agency, and the United Nations to research renewable and alternative energy, to reduce the carbon footprint and limit greenhouse gas emissions.”
“As part of our efforts to diversify the energy mix and depend on clean and renewable energy sources, we announced a major project to build a hydroelectric power station that will make use of the water stored in the mountains next to the Hatta dam and other development projects that will be completed in five years. The hydroelectric power station is the first of its kind in the GCC. It will produce 250MW with a lifespan of 60-80 years. The project will provide at least 2,000 jobs during the execution and after completion. To support the Smart Dubai initiative to make Dubai the smartest and happiest city in the world, we launched three smart initiatives. The first initiative is Shams Dubai to encourage building owners to install photovoltaic panels to produce electricity. The second is the Smart Applications and Meters initiative to speed up connections, respond faster, and save energy. The Green Charger initiative establishes the infrastructure for electric vehicle charging stations to encourage the use of electric vehicles in Dubai. 100 Green Chargers have been installed in different parts of Dubai so far. We have achieved significant progress with the Shams Dubai initiative. By December 2016, DEWA connected 296 rooftop solar systems. These include residential and commercial buildings in Dubai with a capacity of over 7.3MW. The smart grid initiative is a key element in our strategy to develop an advanced infrastructure to support Dubai to become the smartest city in the world and reduce energy consumption by 30% by 2030,” added Al Tayer.
“His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum approved the Dubai Future Agenda, and launched the Dubai Future Foundation to oversee its implementation to shape the future in strategic sectors. DEWA is contributing to establishing the largest Government Accelerators in the world. We have a clear integrated strategy that is based on innovation and anticipating the future that continuously supports Research and Development (R&D) through incubators that innovate technological models and solutions, develop renewable energy technologies, and continuously review the best experiences and the latest international practices. We are working to maintain the pace of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We implement disruptive technologies in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity and water to provide world-class services, with a focus on quality of life for citizens and residents and the sustainability of our resources. DEWA also considers it a priority to develop effective partnerships between the public and private sectors for their key role in the success of the Future Accelerators, by opening new horizons to benefit from distinguished and innovative experiences,” continued Al Tayer.
“These will help to develop the best services and applications and take them to the highest international standards, to help Dubai become the happiest city on Earth. To support this ambitious National programme, we signed three MoUs for experimental projects with three start-up companies. These are Ecoisme, Mistbox, and Sure Chill. They use advanced technologies that depend on artificial intelligence, solar energy and other technologies to conduct research and experiments. This is done through technological incubators in energy saving, cooling, energy storage, providing live information for customers on energy use of appliances and billing. This will help homeowners to increase energy efficiency, as well as our areas of operations. We continuously review the best international practices and the latest developments in operating systems, mobile computing and cloud computing, virtualisation, distribution systems, software engineering, Internet of Things (IoT), robotic technologies, and Big and Open Data, and studying customer behaviour. DEWA also makes use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to assist in its energy and water services. DEWA conducts research to develop models, and smart grid technologies and systems, and monitor energy consumption patterns. It researches the effect that new technologies have on the grids, from renewable energy, to storage technologies and electric vehicle infrastructure, and research 3D printing,” said Al Tayer.
“Last year witnessed the launch of international initiatives and strategies. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Dubai-based World Green Economy Organisation (WGEO) in partnership with the UNDP. His Highness also launched the AED 100 billion Dubai Green Fund to provide financial tools for clean energy investors. We will continue to build more renewable and clean energy projects, to achieve this vision and enhance sustainability and make the UAE a global platform for innovation to benefit the UAE’s citizens and residents from around the world to contribute to a brighter and more sustainable future for all,” concluded Al Tayer.