Environment

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and MD & CEO of DEWA, was the Guest of Honour at the Future of Green Buildings & Sustainability seminar. The seminar was planned by the United Kingdom Embassy-Dubai and the UK Trade & Investment at Radisson Blu hotel, Dubai.

The seminar was attended by HE Edward Hobart, the UK Consul General to Dubai, Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (EMPOWER), Abdullah Mohammed Rafi, Deputy General Manager of Engineering & Planning at Dubai Municipality, Waleed Salman, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at DEWA, Stephane Le Gentil, CEO of Etihad ESCO, Khawla Al Mehairi, Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications at DEWA, representatives from Trakhees, the Emirates Green Building Council, Mott MacDonald, and officials from the UK Trade & Investment, and government and private organisations.

Sustainability has become a main objective and has collected global attention as it addresses holistically the social progress, environmental stewardship, and economic prosperity features. Building a green future is part of the broad concept of sustainability as stipulated in the UAE Vision and Strategy 2021 and also in the 2021 Dubai Plan. In the same context, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the UAE strategy for green development in the form of a long-term national initiative aiming to build a green economy in the UAE under the theme Green Economy for Sustainable Development. This initiative includes various programmes and policies in the fields of clean and renewable energy, enhancing the efficiency of using natural resources, encouraging green economy and green cities investments, including urban planning, encouraging sustainable transportation, as well as handling the causes and impacts of climate change, said Al Tayer.

This initiative aims to make the UAE one of the world leaders and a centre for the export and re-export of green products and technologies, while upholding a sustainable environment to support long-term economic growth. It is nearly eight years since the launch of Dubais Sustainability drive, marked by His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoums declaration of the Green Buildings initiative on 24 October 2007. This initiative is rooted in the belief that resource efficiency in general, energy and water in particular, is no longer an option. No doubt that resource efficiency is a vital element in building a green future and smart cities. Dubais Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 is driven by the vision of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy to make Dubai a role model to the world in energy security and efficiency. Accordingly, the mission is to support Dubais economic growth, through diverse and secure energy supply and efficient energy use, while meeting environmental and sustainability objectives. Also, in line with DEWAs strategy and vision as A sustainable Innovative World-Class Utility, we adopt two parallel approaches to sustainability, added Al Tayer.
On the supply side, we have been building sustainable power and water supply systems for the last few decades in line with the recognised best international standards and practices. We enhance resource efficiency and effectiveness as far as practical. We thrived in raising the efficacy of our existing generation plant by 28.36% between 2006 and 2014. We also reduced the percentage of our grid power losses to 3.26% in 2014 from 7.03% in 1998, by following the best international technical standards and sound engineering practices in the power system planning, design, construction and operation. This figure is considered the lowest worldwide. Similarly, we succeeded in reducing our unaccounted for water in our water supply system to 9.1% in year 2014 from 42% in 1988. This figure is also considered among the lowest worldwide. We have achieved 4.9 minutes of power supply interruption per customer per year in 2014 compared to an average of 15 minutes recorded by leading utilities in the European Union.

To decrease reliance on natural gas, and the impact on the environment, while improving security of supply by diversifying the fuel supply mix, Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 has specified future power generation mix consisting of a combination of gas, solar, clean coal and nuclear energy sources. We have recently raised the share of renewable energy sources in the energy mix to 7% by 2020 and 15% by 2030. Solar Power is the most significant and strategic renewable resource in the UAE and the region. DEWA has embarked on building the Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park with an ultimate capacity of 3,000MW by 2030 at stages, which upon completion, will be the largest solar park in the region, and possibly beyond. The total cost of this project is estimated to be in the tune of AED20 billion. This will make a substantial contribution to Dubais future energy needs and will also make Dubai as one of the leaders in the field of renewable energy, added Al Tayer.

On the demand side, we adopt power and water demand management initiatives in response to sustainable development requirements as a major strategic direction in Dubais strategy, to rationalise and control consumption, preserve natural resources and protect the environment. The Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 identified Demand Side Management as a fundamental driver to decrease energy demand and mitigate connected challenges such as energy security issues, financial burden and environmental consequences through the implementation of enhanced energy efficient initiatives. Implementation of this strategy will position Dubai as a role model in energy security and efficiency. It will also avoid and defer additional capacities, contribute to the development of a green economy and support the achievement of sustainable development goals as per UAE strategy. Our target is to lessen energy consumption by 30% in 2030. A clear roadmap and action plan for demand side management are being implemented to attain the target demand reduction. The cumulative costs for this ambitious strategic project will be approximately AED30 billion, with returns of AED82 billion and a net profit of AED52 billion. And by the same token, we have developed a strategy, roadmap and action plan to reduce carbon emissions by 16% by 2021, said Al Tayer.

As one of the key components of smart city, DEWA has set its strategy and roadmap of smart power and water grids at the value of 7 billion dirhams to facilitate efficient and reliable infrastructure to support the demand management programme and connect sources of renewable energy. The smart grid programmes include advanced metering infrastructure, asset management, demand side management, distribution automation, information technology infrastructure, sub-station automation, system integration and telecommunication. As we do believe in leading by example, we have built the first sustainable government building in the UAE, and the largest governmental building in the world with a Platinum rating for green buildings from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The building saves 66% of energy consumption, and has achieved a reduction in water consumption by 48%, added Al Tayer.

DEWA also provides its customers with free of charge services to check the efficiency of electricity and water consumption in their buildings by inspecting the lighting systems, air conditioning, and water networks. This enables our customers to improve and rationalise consumption and implement the necessary recommendations to achieve the best possible saving rates in energy consumption. DEWA and Dubai Municipality have also identified the requirements and criteria to make Dubais buildings compatible with environmental standards. The Green Building Regulations for new buildings include site selection, efficient use of energy and water, use of high quality construction materials, maintaining high quality indoor environment, and waste management solutions. With this, we aim to reduce electricity consumption, especially the energy used for cooling and heating water, considerably. Furthermore, DEWA has established Etihad Energy Service Company (SUPER ESCO) to encourage energy services companies in the market and to promote energy efficiency business, noted Al Tayer.

Al Tayer explained that as part of Dubais efforts to disseminate its leading experience in green buildings, over 30,000 existing buildings in the Emirate of Dubai will be retrofitted by 2030 as per the Demand side management action plan, to make them more sustainable. Etihad ESCO will facilitate and implement this important programme.

The continuing development of clean, sustainable, reliable, secure, smart, efficient and affordable electricity and water infrastructure presents great challenges to all stakeholders on both supply and demand side, but also offers great opportunities.

Further innovation and engineering excellence in green and smart grid components and technologies are key factors for building a green future and smart cities. In line with this, DEWA is establishing a Research and Development Centre in the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the Smart Dubai initiative to make Dubai the happiest city on earth. The future city of Dubai is; smart, integrated, connected, sustainable with its resources, and enjoys a sustainable economic growth. Its inhabitants are educated, healthy and live in an inclusive and cohesive society. The city is proactive and creative in meeting the needs of individuals and society, which in total achieves the happiness of the people. DEWA has launched three smart initiatives that support Smart Dubai drive. The first one (Shams Dubai) includes connecting solar power in houses and buildings and encouraging households and building owners to install solar panels to produce electricity. These will be connected to the grid. This encourages the use of renewable energy and increases its share in the energy mix. The second focuses on using smart applications to promote smart consumption using smart meters while the third one (Green Charger) is related to establishing infrastructure and charging stations for electric vehicles. As for the distance towards this vision for the smart city from today, we have come a long way in realising the vision of our wise leadership to make Dubai the smartest city in the world within three years.
We have learnt from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum that: In the race for excellence there is no finish line. Here I recall an article by His Highness entitled Innovate or Stagnate, which has enlightened us that achieving todays vision will stimulate us to achieve a more ambitious, advanced and innovative vision, concluded Al Tayer.

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