HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), headed a delegation from DEWA to Milan, Italy. The trip is encouraging Italian companies to take part in clean and renewable energy projects in the UAE and the Middle East. The delegation included Waleed Salman, Executive Vice President of Strategy & Business Development at DEWA, Dr. Yousef Al Akraf, Executive Vice President of Business Support and Human Resources at DEWA, Stephane Le Gentil, CEO of Etihad Energy Services Company (Etihad ESCO), Mohammed Abdul Kareem Al Shamsi, Senior Manager of Sustainability and Climate Change at DEWA, and Ahmed Abdullah, Senior Manager of External Communications at DEWA.
In his speech during the delegation’s visit to Milan, Al Tayer highlighted DEWA’s projects and initiatives in clean and renewable energy to HE Nora Jomaa, Consul General to the United Arab Emirates to Milan, Italy, Dr. Marinella Loddo, Director of ITA Office in Milan, Dr Gianpaolo Bruno, Director of ITA Office in Dubai, Dr Marco Ferioli, Director of SACE Office in Dubai, representatives from SIMEST (Italian Government Project and Trade Finance Agency), representatives from PROMOS (Milan Chamber of Commerce's Internationalisation Agency), and representatives from UBI Banca, in addition to a large number of representatives from the biggest Italian energy companies.
“The UAE and Italy have an important trade partnership, which distinguishes our relationship. Currently, around 10,000 Italians live in the UAE, making it the largest Italian community in the Middle East and North Africa. And this is the result of significant growth with 600 Italian companies in the UAE today, from 200 in 2011. The current bilateral trade between the UAE and Italy is USD8 billion, with exports being 90% of total foreign trade, which is USD7.1 billion” said Al Tayer.
“The foundations of our close ties were laid down by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Founder of the UAE, may his soul rest in peace. These have grown stronger under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai,” added Al Tayer.
“Italy’s UBI Banca has opened a representative office in Dubai, to advise Italian small and medium enterprises working in the UAE. It has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Etihad Energy Services Company (Etihad ESCO) to support any Italian companies bidding for contracts for the energy-efficient retrofitting programme. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) established Etihad ESCO to boost energy performance contracts by providing financial organisations 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 over 30,000 buildings to make them energy-efficient in the first phase of this project at a cost of 30 billion dollars, bringing returns of AED82 billion, and a net profit of AED52 billion, as we place great importance on environmental issues that contribute to the sustainable development of the UAE.”
“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,” added Al Tayer.
“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 a secure energy supply, using energy efficiently, and meeting our environmental and sustainability goals, to make Dubai a global centre for clean energy and green economy.”
“Dubai is concerned with all activities related to energy sustainability. We realise the importance of reducing carbon emissions internationally. This can be clearly seen in our adopting various important initiatives that conserve resources and promote sustainability. 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. A strategy with ambitious goals and five main pillars that consists of: infrastructure, legislation, funding, building capacities and skills, and an environmentally-friendly energy mix.”
“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 a total investment of USD13.6 billion (AED50 billion) to save approximately 6.5 million tonnes per annum in emissions,” said Al Tayer.
“Our strategy involves moving from a carbon-intensive economy to a greener one, through the Dubai Green Fund, which is worth USD27 billion, encouraging green investments and green growth. Through our Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), the world’s largest district cooling services provider, we highlight the benefits of district cooling for both public and private sectors around the world, as there is an urgent need to consolidate efforts to address the challenges facing the energy sector and create new business opportunities in renewable and clean energy,” continued Al Tayer.
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