Renewables are key to achieving a sustainable economic, social and environmental development and Dubai has become a pioneer worldwide in developing clean and renewable energy, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (DEWA) MD & CEO, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, told Zawya.

“Dubai has developed a number of techniques and practices to enhance the efficiency of the energy sector while rationalising consumption and finding alternative solutions to conventional energy,” Al Tayer said.

The emirate is slowly and steadily pursuing its ambition to strengthen its position as a hub for sustainable investments worldwide.

For instance, The Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, aims to convert the emirate into a centre of green energy and economy. The strategy has earmarked an investment outlay of around 600 billion dirhams ($163.3 billion), mostly in generating power from clean energy sources.

The Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 consists of five pillars: infrastructure, legislation, funding, building capacities and skills and having an environment-friendly energy mix, it aims to provide 75 percent of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy by 2050.

To align with the objectives of the strategy, DEWA has launched several green programmes and initiatives, such as the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world, with a total investment of 50 billion dirhams ($13.6 billion) and a planned total production capacity of 5,000 megawatts (MW).

“Upon completion, the solar park will reduce at least 6.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually and provide thousands of jobs in clean energy and green economy,” Al Tayer said.

Al Tayer noted that technologies are more and more impacting different industries within the green economy.

“DEWA’s efforts are focused on entering the race for the future by employing the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), unmanned aerial vehicles, energy storage, blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) as well as developing technical infrastructure and state-of-the-art customer centres with advanced solutions,” he said. 

Expo 2020 plans

DEWA is Dubai Expo 2020’s sustainable energy partner and will provide 100 percent renewable energy through Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.
 
“DEWA has allocated 4.26 billion UAE dirhams to support the infrastructure for electricity and water at Expo 2020 in Dubai, in accordance with the highest standards of availability, reliability and efficiency, with its latest smart systems,” according to Al Tayer.

The utility major has partnered with Expo 2020 and Siemens to develop Green Hydrogen, a first of its kind project in the MENA region, to produce hydrogen using clean energy.

(Reporting by Gerard Aoun; editing by Seban Scaria)

(gerard.aoun@refinitiv.com)

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© ZAWYA 2019