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Dubai Electricity and Water Authorityw w w . d e w a . g o v . a e

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EnergyEnergyEnergy

The first ever profile for ’s new publication is a look at Dubai

Electricity and Water Authority, and its exciting journey

towards sustainability.

D E W A

The roadmap towards clean energyDEWA’s targets for renewable energy are clear. In November 2015, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, to provide 7% of Dubai’s energy from clean sources by 2020, 25% by 2030 and 75% by 2050.

DEWA’s investment programs include green building regulations, retrofi tting existing buildings, district cooling, wastewater reuse, laws and standards to raise eff iciency, energy-eff icient street lighting, and the Shams Dubai initiative, which encourages building owners to install photovoltaic panels to generate electricity. Dubai has a carbon abatement strategy to reduce carbon emissions by 16% by 2020, with DEWA contributing over 50% of this target. Dubai aims to become the city with the lowest carbon footprint in the world by 2050.

DEWA is also actively expanding its use of solar power. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the largest single-site solar park in the world, with capacity targets of 1,000MW by 2020 and 5,000MW by 2030, and with a total investment of AED 50 billion. It will help achieve a reduction

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“The country’s move to utilise

solar power represents the potential of

providing most of the UAE’s

demand for electricity

The UAE has maintained a leading position in today’s global energy market, which is widely

attributed to how its leadership has used its resources, natural and otherwise, to grow the economy over the last few years. However, the country has also come to realise that to continue to prosper, it needs to become more responsible for the environment. The UAE has developed a roadmap to achieve total sustainable development to position itself as a model for the whole of the Middle East. In fact, the UAE is the fi rst country in the region to set renewable energy targets and implement programmes and initiatives that can enable it to reach its goals.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is committed to playing an important role in the country’s eff orts to achieve and maintain sustainability. DEWA was established in January of 1992 through a decree issued by the late Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum to merge Dubai Electricity Company and Dubai Water Department, which before then had been operating independently. Since it was established, DEWA has positioned itself as one of the best utilities in the world: providing world-class, highly eff icient and reliable services to around 750,000 customers with a satisfaction rate of 94.4%.

Reviving the spiritof com

munity living

RESIDEN

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Dubai Investm

ents Park is a unique concept of a ‘city within a city’. It is a benchm

ark in real

estate w

ith num

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ith its close proximity to A

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ubai Expo 2020, and w

ith multiple easy access points, D

ubai Investments Park is the next

residential and business hub of the city amid leisure of life, nature, com

fort and total satisfaction. It is w

hat we call a perfect destination for w

ork, live and play!

Dubai Investm

ents Park Developm

ent Co. L.L.C. PO

Box 111485, Dubai, U

AE. | T +971 4 8851188 | F +971 4 8851007 | Toll Free 800(D

IPARK) | w

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.dipark.com

Reviving the spiritof community living

RESIDENCE

WORK

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EDUCATION

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Dubai Investments Park is a unique concept of a ‘city within a city’. It is a benchmark in real estate with numerous integrated residential, industrial and commercial developments. With its close proximity to Al Maktoum International Airport and Dubai Expo 2020, and with multiple easy access points, Dubai Investments Park is the next residential and business hub of the city amid leisure of life, nature, comfort and total satisfaction. It is what we call a perfect destination for work, live and play!

Dubai Investments Park Development Co. L.L.C. PO Box 111485, Dubai, UAE. | T +971 4 8851188 | F +971 4 8851007 | Toll Free 800(DIPARK) | www.dipark.com

D E W A

of approximately 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually, which supports Dubai Government’s green initiatives and programmes.

DEWA has also recently issued an AED 100 billion tender for the development of the strategy, regulation, executive lists, and governance framework of the Dubai Green Fund, which was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to provide the means for investors in the energy sector to fund various projects. DEWA assures the energy demand for the success of these projects, in addition to establishing their economic value.

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by combining electricity and water to improve efficiencies while reducing our capital and operating expenditure.

However, it is not possible to retrofit existing plants with photovoltaic or other solar technologies. To overcome this challenge, MSF plants need to be connected to a central solar plant. DEWA’s strategy is to build RO plants in the future to meet water demand, as they require only 30-40% of the energy that MSF plants need.

Leading the wayAnother example of DEWA’s efforts towards sustainability can be seen in its recent announcement to supply 2,000 households of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment (MBRHE) project with 160,000 LED light bulbs and photovoltaic panels. This will reduce the demand for energy as well as the long and medium term costs for electricity. The move, which is the result of a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed by both DEWA and MBRHE, highly complements the objectives and goals set by the Green Economy for Sustainable Development initiative, which was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. It also marks a forward step in reaching the goals of the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 to reduce energy demand by 30% by 2030.

Today, DEWA has a water capacity of 470 million imperial gallons of water per day from its desalination plants. DEWA operates its electricity and water networks to high standards of efficiency, availability and reliability. In 1988 its network water loss rates were 42.5%, but today, at 8.2%, they are one of the lowest in the world.

In Dubai, DEWA’s production capacity is primarily derived from Multi-Stage Flash distillation (MSF) technology, with 6% coming from Reverse Osmosis (RO). As 70% of its production is from waste heat and is fuel-free, this means that DEWA is desalinating water

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Energy

Once installations are completed, it is expected to bring in an increased dependence on renewable energy as well as the share of electricity, thus limiting the use of natural resources and taking a huge leap towards sustainability.

The response to going solarThe country’s move to utilise solar power represents the potential of providing most of the UAE’s demand for electricity. With this in mind, the UAE has already started taking initial steps to introduce solar power, and plans to generate the vast majority of its electrical energy by 2050 from solar and nuclear sources. In fact, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is one of the world’s largest renewable projects based on an independent power producer (IPP) model. Besides the three phases that consist of solar farms using photovoltaic technology, the long-term project will also include concentrating solar power (CSP).

DEWA has received recently 5 bids from international organisations for the third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The lowest recorded bid at the opening of the envelopes was US 2.99 cents per kilowatt hour. The next step in the bidding process will review the technical and commercial aspects of the bids to select the best one.

“The UAE has developed a roadmap to achieve total sustainable development to position itself as a model for the whole of the Middle East.

tests will help to create higher standards of photovoltaic products in the region.

Going forwardDEWA’s move towards clean energy resources is an eff ort to assure sustainability, protect the environment, and provide infi nite resources of energy and development. The UAE’s leadership recognise the importance of achieving sustainable development, and in doing so attempts to continue the legacy of the country’s founding fathers.

From a more global perspective, the UAE has provided the world with energy for half a century and is committed to its responsibilities as an eff ective member of the international community. DEWA, along with other concerned agencies, has vowed its full cooperation, support and commitment in working to ensure energy, water and food security to achieve sustainable development and provide a high standard of life for the present and for generations to come.

DEWA had released a request for the Expression of Interest (EOI) for the 800MW third phase of the solar park on 8 September 2015 and received 95 EOI responses from international solar organisations between 8-29 September 2015. DEWA requested companies submit their requests for qualifi cation before November 2015. This was followed by a Request for Proposals (RFP) to qualifi ed bidders on 28 December 2015.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park will also include the DEWA Innovation Centre, comprised of a group of research and development laboratories in the fi eld of clean energy with a total investment of AED 500 million. The Solar Park also has two test technologies for photovoltaic panels and for CSP. These panels are studied, evaluated and tested for long-term reliability in local weather conditions. Researchers cooperate with international organisations, to study the impact of dust on photovoltaic equipment. These

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Dubai Electricity And Water Authority P.O. Box 564, Dubai, U.A.E

24/7 Customer Care Contact centre: T: +971 (0)4 601 9999 E: customercare@dewa.gov.ae

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©Essential Business Magazine 2016