The conference, held on 14-15 March 2016 at Park Hyatt hotel in Dubai, discusses different topics related to technologies and mechanisms to retrofit existing buildings. It also explores the challenges and opportunities in the UAE’s retrofit market to achieve greater energy efficiency and sustainability.
In his keynote speech, Al Tayer emphasised the importance of the conference to encourage more energy service companies to take part in this promising market. He noted that this will support the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 to reduce energy demand by 30% by 2030, and the Carbon Abatement Strategy to reduce carbon emissions by 16% by 2021.
“Dubai has a clear strategy for sustainable development based on the vision by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Last November, His Highness launched 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. This firm commitment and ongoing support by our wise leadership has promoted the importance of environmental issues and their inclusion in all Dubai’s development plans. As a result, the Emirate has made significant advances in addressing energy efficiency, security, rationalisation, and efficiency of energy demand as key elements of its plans for sustainable development. The strategy launched by His Highness shapes the energy sector in Dubai over the next three decades and provides a practical solution for addressing the environmental challenges the world is facing. This is done by establishing a sustainable model for energy conservation, which supports economic growth, without damaging the environment or its natural resources,” said Al Tayer.
“The Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 consists of five main pillars: infrastructure, legislation, funding, building capacities and skills, and having an environmentally-friendly energy mix. The infrastructure pillar includes initiatives such as the Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is managing and building. The park is the largest single-site solar park in the world. It will produce 1,000MW by 2020 and 5,000MW by 2030, with a total investment of AED 50 billion. The first phase of the project became operational in 2013 and the 200MW second phase will be operational in April 2017. The solar park will help reduce 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
The infrastructure pillar also includes the establishment of the Dubai Green Zone, which is a free zone designed to attract research and development centres and emerging companies in clean energy. The third pillar is about providing financial solutions for research and development in clean energy and its applications. This includes the establishment of the AED 100 billion Dubai Green Fund that will provide financial tools for clean energy investors in the Emirate,” added Al Tayer.
“DEWA adopts a holistic approach for energy that focuses on energy security by diversifying its resources, using the latest technologies in energy storage, and increasing efficiency in the production, transmission, and distribution of electricity and water. We do our best to transform this vision into reality with sustainability being an integral part of our vision, which has resulted in DEWA’s efforts achieving better results in energy efficiency than those of leading utilities in Europe and the USA. DEWA also invests in nine programmes as part of its demand-side management strategy. These include green building regulations, retrofitting existing buildings, district cooling, wastewater reuse, laws and standards to raise efficiency, energy-efficient street-lighting, and the Shams Dubai initiative to encourage building owners to install photovoltaic panels to generate electricity. Dubai aims to install solar panels on the roofs of all buildings by 2030. This strategy provides promising opportunities for energy service companies and promotes the sustainability and energy efficiency business. At DEWA, we also do our best to reduce the effects of all our projects on the environment, and rationalise our use of electricity and water. This is achieved by adopting smart systems and raising awareness among the citizens and residents of Dubai about the importance of adopting green practices as part of their daily lives. This supports our vision to become a sustainable innovative world class utility,” said Al Tayer.
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