Under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE) attended the Emirates Energy Award 2015 ceremony at Armani Hotel Dubai, in the presence of HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, and HE Ahmad Butti Al Muhairbi, Secretary General of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE).
Organized by the DSCE, the Emirates Energy Award (EEA) was launched under the theme ‘For a Sustainable Future’ to highlight the most important innovations and scientific research in the field of energy efficiency and management. The EEA also aims to honour individuals, leading authorities and institutions at the national, regional and international levels for their contribution to sustainable energy initiatives.
The ceremony was attended by senior officials including Mattar Mohamed Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority, Dubai; Mohammed Ahli, Director General of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority; Hesham Al Qassim, CEO of Wasl Asset Management Group; Tayeb Al Rais, Secretary General of the Awqaf and Minors Affairs; Khaled Al Kamda, Director General of Community Development Authority; Abdulla J. M. Kalban is Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminum; Saif Al Falasi, CEO of Emirates National Oil Company «ENOC»; Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, Director General of Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZA) and Vice President of Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO); Ahmad Bin Shafar, the Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation; Dr. Eesa Bastaki the President of the University of Dubai and Chairman of Emirates Scientific Club; Major General Abdul Rahman Mohammad Rafi, Assistant to the Dubai Police Chief for community service and equipment; Brigadier Ahmed Al Sayegh, Assistant Director General for Fire and Rescue from the Directorate General of Civil Defence. Furthermore, a number of senior officials from federal ministries, departments, institutions and public and private bodies along with local media representatives attended the ceremony.
In the opening speech His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, highlighted the initiative of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum under the theme "Green Economy For Sustainable Development" and His Highness' visionary directives aiming to make the UAE one of the global leading country in the field of green economy and a global hub for exporting and re-exporting green products and technologies, while conserving a sustainable environment that can support economic growth over the long run, and the UAE Vision 2021 and Dubai Plan 2021, which all form an integrated roadmap towards sustainability and green economy.
"Honoring the winners of the Emirates Energy Award 2015, which is held this year under the theme “For a sustainable future” reflects the DSCE relentless efforts to build up and promote green economy and sustainable development, all of which come in line with the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. This prestigious Award, is held under His Highness' patronage," Said His Excellency.
"Today, the world is witnessing a rapid change in energy mix due to the change in the economic circumstances, technology development and climate change. Since the rise of the United Arab Emirates, energy sources played a key role in the development and growth. Our wise leadership have recognized the necessity of conserving the environment and resources' sustainability which is why the issues of sustainable energy has become one of the key factors in our relentless efforts towards economic growth," said His Excellency.
"The objectives of this Award makes it a leading global award in the field of energy as it recognizes leading institutions and individuals aiming to promote the clean and renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable development at all levels. It also aims to shed light on remarkable achievements in the field of energy, honor great efforts and creative ideas, promote the best practices and scientific innovations, and establish a global platform to share creative ideas, successful practices and cutting-edge projects that serve humanity and pave the road for clean and efficient use of energy to preserve our resources, reduce carbon emissions and protect our planet through creative ideas and unprecedented projects," added Al Tayer.
"Horning distinguished and creative institutions and individuals all over the world, playing a leading role in developing unconventional solutions to the challenges of energy availability and security and sharing them will help us achieve more economic progress and social development, combat poverty, raise standard of living, and achieve happiness and prosperity to all nations," said Al Tayer.
"On launching this Award, The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy had a long-term vision as it aimed to create a rich and encouraging environment as well as a spirit of competition and innovation to secure efficient and sustainable energy supply, and find alternative and renewable sources of energy to meet the requirements of development. All these objectives of the Award materialize and come in line with the UAE Vision 2021, and the long-term national initiative launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum under the theme 'Green Economy for Sustainable Development'. In addition, the Award complements the announcement by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to mark 2015 as the ‘Year of Innovations’ by honoring innovators who have made a clear and positive impact on the lives of the people. We are delighted that the Award has succeeded in drawing the attention and interest of more than 12 countries, and attracted 112 innovative projects submitted from countries including, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Morocco, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Iran, India, and Germany. The Council also took the lead in setting Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 aiming to diversify energy mix in Dubai to become 15% renewable energy, 7% nuclear energy, 7% clean coal, and 71% natural gas. It also set the Strategy of Energy Demand Side Management aiming to reduce consumption by 30% by 2030, as well as other innovative plans and initiatives," said Al Tayer.
"The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy with all its dependent organizations and institutions under its umbrella are fully committed to all the criteria of sustainability and green economy and are always keen to implement state-of-the-art and creative developments and updates for a sustainable and more efficient future depending on renewable and clean sources of energy in all aspects and facets of life. And are good examples to follow in this field," stated His Excellency.
Commenting on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, Al Tayer said: "This Solar Park is an excellent testimony to our relentless pursuit towards the use of renewable energy and sustainability with its total production capacity of 3000 Megawatt upon completion of all of its phases. This Solar Park will contribute 15% to Dubai's energy mix. It is considered a great scientific achievement towards a better and brighter future as it includes facilities of knowledge transfer and research, namely an Innovation Centre equipped with state-of-the-art technologies of clean and renewable energy, and research and development centre with its cutting-edge equipment for solar energy tests. This Solar Park with all its facilities constitute a world-class civilized and scientific achievement that serves our direction towards a better and brighter future."
"EEA is also considered a global platform for organizations and individuals as it focuses on supporting international efforts aiming to find innovative and sustainable solutions for energy availability and efficiency, environmental pollution, global warming, CO2 emission and lack of natural resources, which are the most important and urgent issues that humanity faces nowadays," said Al Tayer HE Saeed Al Tayer praised the efforts of all participants in the Award with their creative ideas and ambitious projects and initiatives to find practical solutions to ensure our resources sustainability. He also thanked all participants in the Award and congratulated the winners of this high-profile and prestigious Award. He also praised the role of the sponsors of the Award; namely Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Emirates National Oil Company "ENOC", and Dragon Oil.
“The EEA was launched to enhance the use of renewable and clean energy and to activate the role of the public and institutions in this regard. The EEA also aims to raise awareness and encourage energy conservation to protect our national resources and environment. We aim to promote and honour the owners of creative and innovative projects and highlight the best practices and experiences at the local and global level to raise awareness on the rational and responsible use of energy,” said HE Ahmad Butti Al Muhairbi, Secretary General of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE).
“This edition confirms that the EEA has achieved its desired results reflected in the increased participation both at the local and regional level, and the diversity of the projects submitted,” added Secretary General Al Muhairbi.
Al Muhairbi congratulated the winners and expressed optimism in attracting a larger number of projects in the upcoming edition in 2017.
During the ceremony, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, accompanied by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer and HE Ahmed Butti Muhairbi distributed the Awards and honoured the sponsors and supporting organisations that contributed to the success of the award.
His Highness honoured the winners of the different categories:
The Large Energy Project category:
Oman Oil Company S.A.O.C / BAUER Nimr LLC won the gold prize for the world's largest commercial reed-bed sewage treatment plant. Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (ADMA-OPCO) was honoured with the silver award for its operational efficiency project on oil fields, and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) was granted the bronze award for its battery storage project.
Small Energy Project:
The Dubai Airport Free Zone won the gold award for its energy efficiency and resource conservation measures (natural lighting and window shading to avoid air conditioning needs) while and Dubai International Financial Centre won the silver for its energy efficiency measure using natural lighting and window shading to limit air-conditioning, while the UAE Green Energy Solutions & Sustainability LLC won the Bronze for its landfill gas power generation project.
Energy Efficiency in the Public Sector category:
The gold award went to Dubai Police for their rationalize energy consumption project. The silver award went to Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO) for its operational efficiency of its manufacturing facilities. Whereas, the bronze award went to the Department of Planning and Development ‘Trakhees’ for its green buildings project and energy efficiency.
Energy Efficiency in the Private Sector category:
Consolidated Contractors Company won the gold award for its project in energy conservation in residential communities. Dragon Oil earned the silver for its school recycling program. Emirates Golf Club won the bronze award for their project of reusing treated sewage water for irrigation.
Education and Capacity Building category:
The Children’s Museum Jordan was honoured with the gold award for its interactive educational program for children "I Am Change". GEMS World Academy won the silver award for its recycling program. Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS Pilani) won the bronze award for its renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives.
Research and Development category:
Dr. Farqad Al-Hadiethi of the Royal Scientific Society of Jordan (RSS) was honoured with the gold award for his project in generating energy and drinking water from seawater using hydrogen Maher Maymoun from PiezoClean won the silver award for using Piezo Technology to keep solar panels clean while Ahmad Chavidz, Mash Shahid and Saeed Al-Zahrani from Saudi Arabia took the bronze award for their project in water desalination powered by solar energy.
Young Professional Energy category:
Mohammed Maher Al Rifai from the UAE won the gold award for his project in reducing emissions from the use of diesel fuel. Also from the UAE, Zahra Yusuf, Iman Abdul Waheed, Aisha Mohammed and Mrs. Abboud al-Amiri were awarded the silver for their project on generating energy from seawater batteries. Dr. Ibrahim Sultan Al Mansouri, also from the UAE, won the bronze for his project in the simulation of multi-junction solar cells performance.
The Special Recognition Award category:
Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) won a special recognition for their organizational framework to improve energy efficiency. Abu Dhabi Municipality was honoured again for its programme to improve energy efficiency and promote awareness.
In water treatment, Nada Al Sahra won the award for obtaining drinking water from humid air, while Middle Delta for Electricity Production Co. was awarded for their project to retrofit gas turbines to improve energy efficiency.
In the Resource Conservation Category, Dr. Abdullah Ismail Al Zarouni won the award for his education and capacity building project in energy management.
In the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Category, Sairbek Community from Germany was honoured for their smart community project through advanced energy technologies. The Energy Efficiency Award was won by Al Rusail Power Company for its project to improve fuel efficiency by applying best practices at its power plant.
The Special Recognition Award - Renewable Energy Category went to Khalid Bashir from Palestine for his solar oven.
The UAE saw large-scale participation by a large group of individuals, leading authorities and institutions, and were honoured for their innovative projects in energy conservation, energy efficiency and for reducing pollution caused by fuel consumption.
They were also recognised for their projects on smart cities, the use of solar energy, green buildings, and strengthening energy systems to improve efficiency. The initiatives and projects that raise public awareness on energy conservation were recognised as well.
Projects submitted on the regional and international levels by individuals and institutions from Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Germany were also honoured. Most of these projects focused on energy conservation and utilization of alternative energy sources. There were also innovative techniques in the reduction of CO2 emission from traditional energy sources to make the world a more suitable place for living.
Concluding the ceremony, HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer thanked the individuals, sponsors and partners who contributed to the success. They included: DEWA, the Strategic Sponsor of EEA; Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) and Dragon Oil, the Gold Sponsors; and Deloitte, the prize’s Independent Auditor.
This year’s award ceremony differed from its previous editions with an innovated 3D projection of the winning initiatives.
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