A high-level delegation from Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), headed by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, is visiting Russia to promote opportunities for joint cooperation with electricity, water, environment, renewable and clean energy businesses there.
The delegation includes Waleed Salman, Executive Vice President-Strategy & Business Development; Dr. Yousef Al Akraf, Executive Vice President of Business Support & Human Resources, Mohammed Abdulkarim Al Shamsi, Acting Executive Director of the UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia) and Ahmed Abdullah, Senior Manager of External Communication at DEWA.
Al Tayer delivered a seminar on business opportunities for water, clean energy and environmentally-sustainable services in Dubai, in Moscow.
Al Tayer highlighted the development of the bilateral relationship between the United Arab Emirates and the Russian Federation, where the trade exchange UAE and Russia exceeded USD 2.5 billion (AED 9.2 billion) in 2015, showing the strong ties between both countries.
“The bilateral relations between the UAE and Russia were strengthened under the leader ship of HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai,” Al Tayer added.
“Through the UAE Vision 2021, we aim to become one of the best countries in the world by 2021. This in turn, strengthens the UAE’s global competitiveness, especially in renewable energy, and green economy technologies and products. Dubai has a comprehensive vision for a sustainable future which is pivotal to the success of building a green economy. In the past decade, Dubai Government has spearheaded a host of eco-operations, all of which aim to further integrate green economy policies into the Emirate’s development process,” he added.
“In line with the Dubai Plan 2021, and the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, we aim to be a global role model by supporting Dubai’s economic growth having secured energy supply, using energy efficiently and meeting our environmental and sustainability goals, to make Dubai a global centre for clean energy and green economy,” he said.
“Dubai is focused on energy security and sustainability. We also realise the importance of reducing carbon emissions to preserve our planet. The Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 aims to provide 7% of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy sources by 2020. This target will increase to 25% by 2030 and 75% by 2050,” emphasised Al Tayer.
“This strategy consists of five main pillars that includes: infrastructure, legislation, funding, building capacities and skills, and an environmentally-friendly-energy mix,” he said.
“The first, Infrastructure, includes initiatives such as the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is the largest single-site project to generate electricity from solar energy in the world, with a planned capacity of 5,000 MW by 2030, and total investment of USD 13.6 billion (AED 50 billion) to save approximately 6.5 million tonnes per annum in emissions,” he added.
“Our strategy involves moving from a carbon-intensive economy to a greener one, through the Dubai Green Fund, which is worth USD 27 billion, encouraging green investments and green growth,” he said.
“DEWA established Etihad ESCO to boost energy performance contracts by providing financial organisations with the opportunity to invest in energy-efficient projects and obtain attractive returns, with the new regulatory framework ensuring that all risks are addressed. Financial institutions can become active partners in the sustainable development vision of Dubai, with plans to retrofit 30,000 buildings to make them energy-efficient in the first phase of this project, along with our Demand Side Management programmes at a cost of AED 30 billion, bringing returns of AED 82 billion, and a net profit of AED 52 billion. We place great importance on environmental issues that contribute to the sustainable development of the UAE,” he said.
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