DUBAI, (Pakistan Point News - 28th Apr, 2021) As part of its observation of Earth Day 2021, held this year under the theme 'Restore Our Earth', the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) organised several virtual activities and events to emphasise the importance of adopting sustainable practices to contribute to the recovery of the earth and the preservation of its resources.
This comes as part of the environmental programmes, initiatives and awareness campaigns organised by DEWA throughout the year to encourage community members to adopt a sustainable lifestyle, and to engage them in supporting national and global efforts to reduce carbon emissions, and fight climate change and global warming.
DEWA invited the public to raise their voice and show their solidarity with global efforts to protect the planet through the hashtag #RestoringEarth on social media platforms. It also encouraged them to adopt the best environmental practices, including using solar photovoltaic panels, electric vehicles, conservation, planting more trees, and recycling plastic waste.
Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, noted the importance of Earth Day in terms of highlighting the importance of rationalizing natural resources and contributing to finding sustainable and effective solutions to reduce waste to establish sustainable development economically, socially, and environmentally.
"We are working to achieve the goals of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to provide 7 percent of Dubai’s total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2020, and 75 percent by 2050. Today, the percentage of clean energy in Dubai's energy mix is about 9 percent, exceeding the percentage set in the strategy. DEWA's efforts have contributed to reducing the net carbon emissions in Dubai by 22 percent in 2019, two years ahead of the target of the Dubai Carbon Abatement Strategy 2021 to reduce 16 percent of carbon emissions by 2021," added Al Tayer.
DEWA is currently implementing key strategic clean and renewable projects, including the 4th phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is the largest single-site solar park in the world with a planned capacity of 5,000 megawatts by 2030. When completed, the solar park will reduce 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year.
DEWA is also implementing the 250MW pumped-storage power station in Hatta, which is the first of its kind in the region.
In collaboration with Expo 2020 Dubai and Siemens, DEWA is implementing the Green Hydrogen project, the first of its kind in the middle East and North Africa. The project is implemented at the outdoor testing facilities of DEWA's R&D Centre at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. In 2014, DEWA launched the Shams Dubai initiative to encourage building owners to install solar photovoltaic panels to generate solar power and connect it to DEWA's grid. Until 25 April 2021, 6,742 solar photovoltaic energy systems have been connected to DEWA's grid with a total capacity of 303 megawatts in residential, commercial and industrial buildings. The EV Green Charger initiative, launched by DEWA, encourages individuals to own electric eco-friendly vehicles and increase the number of hybrid and electric vehicles in the emirate. DEWA has installed about 300 electric vehicle charging stations across the Emirate.
Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said that DEWA attaches great importance to applying the best international practices to enhance energy efficiency to achieve the Demand Side Management Strategy 2030, which aims to reduce electricity and water demand by 30 percent by 2030. DEWA's efforts in this field have resulted in significant savings over the past years. The conservation programmes and initiatives launched by DEWA have achieved cumulative savings of 2.44 terrawatthours (TWh) of electricity and 6.7 billion gallons of water between 2011 and 2020. This is equivalent to saving AED 1.35 billion and reducing 1.22 million tonnes of carbon emissions.
In 2019, DEWA ensured a global achievement as Dubai received the Platinum Rating in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Cities certification awarded by the US Green Building Council. Dubai is the first city in the Middle East and North Africa to receive this prestigious certification. DEWA's efforts to adopt green buildings have been crowned with winning two awards in 2020. These are the Net Zero Building Project of the Year for its Innovation Centre at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park; and the Sustainable Design Project of the Year for its new headquarters' Al Shera'a.
DEWA has won several environmental awards including the Five Star Environmental Award from the British Safety Council and the Globe of Honour Award for Environment for the 9th consecutive year, among seven organisations worldwide with full marks. This places DEWA at the forefront of sustainable utilities, fully abiding with all environmental requirements and specifications locally and internationally with zero environmental violations at all its facilities.
DEWA also launches innovative initiatives and programs to enable customers to monitor, manage, and control their electricity and water consumption proactively, autonomously, and digitally, including the Smart Living initiative.
DEWA provides all its services through its website and smart application. DEWA received the 100 percent Paperless Stamp from Smart Dubai, in recognition of its success in completing the digital transformation of all its operations and services by 100 percent.
