Promising prospects for clean and renewable energy thanks to the vision and directives of our wise leadership

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    BY : HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer,

    MD & CEO of DEWA

     

     

    With the passing away of the late Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, may his soul rest in peace, the UAE lost an exceptional leader with a wise vision and insight who was always keen to serve this country and provide a decent livelihood for all Emiratis. The late Sheikh Khalifa led the country to major achievements in all areas, carrying on the path of our Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may his soul rest in peace. The late Sheikh Khalifa focused on renewable and clean energy. The UAE established its global leadership position in the renewable energy sector and implemented qualitative projects to diversify energy sources and increase the share of renewable and clean energy in the energy mix to support comprehensive and sustainable development. In recognition of these efforts, the UAE, in 2009, won the bid to host the permanent headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), despite strong competition from other countries.

    This journey continues under the wise leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE. His Highness clearly anticipates the future. In his speech at the World Government Summit in Dubai in 2015, His Highness announced that 50 years from now, we would celebrate when the last barrel of oil is exported. In October 2021, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative, a national drive to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, making the UAE the first country in the Middle East and North Africa to do so. This initiative will turn challenges in this sector into opportunities that ensure a brighter future for generations to come. Commenting on the announcement, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said, “We are committed to seizing the opportunity to cement our leadership on climate change within our region and take this key economic opportunity to drive development, growth and new jobs as we pivot our economy and nation to net zero. With an investment of over AED600 billion in renewable energy, our vision for a clean future is clear.”

    In recognition of its leading role in climate action, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) announced that the UAE will host the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) in 2023. This underlines the UAE’s firm commitment to sustainability, its unlimited support for energy and climate change issues, and its outstanding efforts in comprehensive climate action.

    In Dubai, under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, we have a clear direction for the energy sector to achieve the objectives of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100% of the energy production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050. DEWA’s strategy to ensure energy security and sustainability includes three main pillars: producing more clean energy, especially solar energy; decoupling the water desalination process from electricity generation and desalinating water using Reverse Osmosis (RO) and solar energy; and disrupting the role of utilities by digitisation using the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, UAVs, energy storage, blockchain, and the Internet of Things, among others.

    We continue to implement the projects of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model globally, with a production capacity of 5,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030. We are also implementing various projects for energy storage including the use of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) in the 4th phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which combines CSP and photovoltaic solar panels with a production capacity of 950MW. The project will have the world’s largest global thermal storage capacity of 15 hours, facilitating energy availability round the clock. DEWA is also implementing a 250MW pumped-storage hydroelectric power station in Hatta, the first of its kind in the Arabian Gulf region. It will generate electricity using the water stored at Hatta Dam with a storage capacity of 1,500 MWh. In collaboration with Expo 2020 Dubai and Siemens Energy, DEWA has inaugurated the Green Hydrogen project, the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa to produce green hydrogen using solar power. The project was implemented at the outdoor testing facilities of DEWA’s R&D Centre at the solar park.

    We will continue to implement pioneering projects to diversify Dubai’s clean and renewable energy sources to include all available technologies in Dubai to achieve wise leadership’s vision for a brighter and more sustainable future for our future generations. We pledge our allegiance to the UAE and our wise leadership, guided by their insightful vision and directives. We will do our best to serve our dear country, protect its gains and ensure further achievements, so that the UAE becomes the world’s leading nation by its Centennial in 2071.

     

     

     

     



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