Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) | Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer highlights DEWA’s achievements and successes at Dubai International Project Management Forum

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), participated in a panel discussion titled ‘Managing Energy Transformation’ at the 5th Dubai International Project Management Forum (DIPMF), which was organised under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, in Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai under the theme ‘Building Nations’. DEWA co-organised the event with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Dubai Ports World, Emaar Properties, and the Project Management Institute. DIPMF was attended by a large number of international experts and specialists in project management.

Other participants in the panel were HE Sultan Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO, DP World; Dr. Ivan Vera, Former UN Energy Secretary, United Nations; and Pierre Verzat, CEO of SYSTRA. The panel was moderated by Hussein Sayed, CNBC Arabic Anchor & Chief Market Strategist, FXTM.

In response to a question about how DEWA is positioned to be a leading example for the region and the world in renewable and sustainable energy initiatives, Al Tayer said, “Our ambitious visionary leadership has formulated our strategies at both federal and local levels as stipulated in the UAE Vision 2021, UAE Centennial 2071 and Dubai Plan 2021. The UAE has taken stringent measures to address climate change, by preserving natural resources, expanding clean energy and implementing green growth plans. Dubai is leading the way in promoting sustainable energy as it steadily works to diminish its carbon footprint while maintaining a secure, reliable and affordable supply of power and water. DEWA plays an instrumental role in increasing its renewable energy targets, managing energy demand, and further reducing its carbon footprint. The security of supply is a top priority, as we want to be a role model in the world in energy efficiency, reliability, green economy and sustainability.

As a result, the UAE, represented by DEWA, has achieved global competitive results. The UAE ranked in the top position globally, for the second consecutive year, in getting electricity, as per the World Bank’s Doing Business 2019 report. We are securing our supply by diversifying the energy mix to provide 7% of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy by 2020, 25% by 2030 and 75% by 2050. One of our most important projects is the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, with a total planned capacity of 5,000 MW by 2030 and total investments of AED 50 billion. When completed, the solar park will reduce 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

At DEWA, we also adopt a strategy to optimise energy efficiency. We have a clear Demand Side Management Strategy to reduce power and water consumption by 30% by 2030 with 8 main programmes. DEWA has established a Demand Side Management company, Etihad ESCO, to support the improvement of energy efficiency by retrofitting over 30,000 existing buildings in Dubai. Shams Dubai, which allows building owners to install solar panels on houses and buildings, has connected over 1200 solar systems on the roofs of buildings in Dubai with a capacity of 59MW. By 2030, 100% of desalinated water will be produced by clean energy and waste heat. Our electricity and water generation projects to improve efficiency will ensure cumulative savings of up to AED 70 billion and will also contribute to reducing carbon emissions by 236 million tonnes by 2030.”

On the challenges that DEWA faced when it started building the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, Al Tayer said, “When DEWA started the 13 MW pilot project in 2012 (Phase I of the solar park), one of the challenges was the price. We put in place a full mitigation plan to meet our requirements and we obtained world records, four times in solar prices based on the IPP model: 5.6 cent / Kwh for Phase II of the 200 MW project in April 2015; 2.99 cents/kWh for the Phase III 800 MW project in May 2016; USD 7.3 cents, and USD 2.4 cents (kW/h) for the Phase IV 700MW CSP and 250 PV in 2018. The competition created amongst developers by DEWA in its IPP projects has resulted in significantly reduced CAPEX per megawatt of installed capacity compared to the EPC model, and best prices in levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) leading to a more efficient utilisation of available economic resources. DEWA increased the efficiency of the solar panels from 11% (thin film) to 15.3% in Phase II and we reached 16.9% poly-crystalline in Phase III. This has an advanced solar tracking system and robotics-cleaning system for solar cells that maintains a high-performance level to increase generation efficiency (over 800,000 solar cells). Large scale utility projects require a strong regulatory framework. In Dubai, we have established comprehensive legal and regulatory frameworks including the establishment of the Regulatory and Supervisory Bureau (RSB) in Dubai. Given the variability of power generation, which requires storage technologies, we are building the largest CSP project in the world with IPP (1000 MW) by 2030 (of which 700 MW are under construction). DEWA is also looking into other storage options. These include a 250 MW pumped storage hydroelectric plant in Hatta. We are also studying plans to build a 400MW pumped hydro storage power island. Currently we have a number of pilot power storage projects using various energy storage techniques such as fuel cells and batteries. DEWA is implementing a pioneering model for utilities, called Digital DEWA, that is based on innovation in renewable energy, energy storage, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and digital services. We are working to enhance and develop skills and capacity for our citizens. DEWA has signed multiple Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with international organisations and universities to train our employees in Europe, and the US, while exchanging skills and learning about international developments in energy, water, and environment.”