Minister-President Of Belgium's Wallonia Hails UAE’s Strategies To Invest In Clean Energy Solutions

DUBAI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 11th Nov, 2021) Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), has received a high-level Belgian delegation headed by Elio Di Rupo, Minister-President of the Government of Wallonia, Belgium.

The delegation included Peter Claes, Ambassador of Belgium to the UAE; Olivier Henry, Head of the Office of the Minister-President of the Walloon Government; Anja Heinen, Trade Commissioner for the Walloon Region and Brussels Capital Region to the UAE; and representatives of various companies and public organisations in the energy and communications sector in Wallonia, Belgium.

The visitors reviewed the latest renewable and sustainable energy technologies, DEWA’s role in this, and the UAE’s strategies to invest in clean energy solutions for national capacity building.

Al Tayer welcomed the Belgian delegation and stressed the importance of strengthening strategic cooperation between DEWA and Belgian companies and organisations in energy and water and other areas of common interest.

Al Tayer presented DEWA’s key projects, initiatives, and plans to realise the wise leadership’s vision to increase the share of clean and renewable energy. He also highlighted DEWA’s efforts to use all its resources to keep pace with the Fourth Industrial Revolution and disruptive technologies to help make Dubai a sustainable and smart city.

"DEWA has a clear strategy and specific objectives to increase the share of renewable and clean energy within Dubai’s energy mix.

One of our key projects to achieve this target is the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world. It has a planned capacity of 5,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030. Since its launch, the solar park’s projects have received considerable interest from global developers, reflecting the confidence of investors worldwide in DEWA’s major projects in cooperation with the private sector using the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model, contributing to Dubai’s economic growth. Through this model, DEWA received the lowest solar energy prices (Levelised Cost of Energy) globally five consecutive times, making Dubai a global benchmark for solar power prices," said Al Tayer.

Al Tayer added that DEWA’s projects in the solar park using the IPP model constitute one of the key pillars of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100% of the energy production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050. DEWA has launched pioneering initiatives and projects to diversify clean energy sources. These include multiple clean and renewable energy sources and technologies such as solar photovoltaic solar panels, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), green hydrogen production using solar power, pumped-storage water technology using clean energy in Hatta, and studying electricity generation from wind power.

The Belgian delegation also visited the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. Elio Di Rupo praised DEWA’s efforts to promote a sustainable future.