Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) | MD & CEO welcomes Singaporean Minister of Sustainability and the Environment

His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), welcomed Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment of the Republic of Singapore who headed a high-level delegation from the Ministry. The visit focused on Dubai’s latest achievements and cooperation in clean and renewable energy. The meeting also reviewed key projects, initiatives, and programmes that consolidate the transition towards a green economy and sustainability. Waleed Bin Salman, Executive Vice President of Business Development and Excellence at DEWA, also attended the meeting. The visitors learned about DEWA’s key projects, initiatives, and plans to realise the wise leadership’s vision to increase the share of clean and renewable energy.

Al Tayer said that DEWA works to achieve the objectives of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100% of the energy production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is one of DEWA’s key projects to achieve this, which is the largest single-site solar park in the world. It has a planned capacity of 5,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030.

Al Tayer added that DEWA has launched pioneering initiatives and projects to diversify clean energy sources. These include multiple clean and renewable energy sources and technologies such as photovoltaic solar panels, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), green hydrogen production using solar power, pumped-storage water technology using clean energy in Hatta.

Al Tayer also talked about DEWA’s space programme (Space-D). DEWA is the world’s first utility to use a nanosatellite to improve the maintenance and planning of electricity and water networks. Space-D aims to improve the operations, maintenance, and planning of its networks with the support of nanosatellite technology, Internet of Things (IoT), and remote sensing technologies. The programme also aims to train Emirati professionals to use space technologies to enhance its electricity and water networks. It underlines Dubai’s leadership in taking advantage of the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as IoT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and blockchain to exchange information with the help of satellite communications and earth observation technologies.

Al Tayer also highlighted the Green Hydrogen project, which is implemented at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai. The pilot project is the first project of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa to produce green hydrogen, which represents one of the pillars of a sustainable future that depends on accelerating the transition to carbon neutrality to support a green economy by developing the green mobility sector and reducing carbon emissions from various industries.

Al Tayer added that DEWA has achieved competitive results in its global benchmarking, surpassing major European and American utilities. In 2020 it has reduced losses from electricity transmission and distribution networks to 3.3% compared to 6-7% in the US and Europe.  DEWA’s water network losses have decreased to 5.1%, compared to 15% in North America.

At the end of the meeting, the two sides emphasised strengthening relationships and exchanging experiences to support cooperation frameworks and reach effective and successful partnerships. This will develop investments in promising sectors and enhance the most prominent investment opportunities in the two countries.