Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has announced that it will invest more than Dh86 billion over the next five years. The investment indicates the Emirates’ commitment to meet its clean energy target of generating more than 75 percent of its total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.
According to Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD, and CEO of Dewa, Dewa will ensure energy security and sustainability by implementing three pillars.
While addressing the 24th World Energy Congress, he said the first pillar is to increase the production of clean energy, especially solar. The second pillar is to decouple the desalination process from the production of electricity and desalinate water using solar energy.
He said, “Dewa aims to produce 100 percent desalinated water by 2030 using a combination of clean energy sources and waste heat.”
The third pillar is to disrupt the role of utilities by digitisation using the fourth industrial revolution’s disruptive technologies, such as artificial intelligence, UAVs, energy storage, blockchain, the Internet of Things and many more.
Last month, Dewa drafted a Dh1.437 billion contract for the development of a pumped-storage hydroelectric power station at Hatta, UAE. The contract was awarded to a consortium comprising Strabag Dubai, Strabag, Andritz Hydro, and Ozkar.
One of Dewa’s most prominent projects is the development of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park which will produce 5000 megawatts of clean energy by 2030 with a total investment of around Dh50 billion.
The state-owned company also held a strategic summit with Chinese multinational technology company Huawei. During the strategic summit, Dewa and Huawei launched a joint AI laboratory, through which they will develop and implement AI digital services for the Middle East.