WGS 2024: Cost of solar energy in DEWA’s projects drops massively, says Saeed Al Tayer

Dubai: “Energy transition comes with challenges but it is important to turn these challenges into opportunities to achieve greener transition and sustainable development and spread the benefits to everyone,” Saeed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), told the World Government Summit 2024 on Tuesday.

Al Tayer made these remarks on Tuesday in his keynote speech titled ‘Future global transformations in the energy sector’ at the World Governments Summit 2024 where he also took the opportunity to mention DEWA’s milestones in its endeavours towards its greener transitions and sustainable development.

He emphasised in the speech, that the transition to renewable energy is reshaping global power dynamics, noting that it’s important to turn the energy transition challenges into opportunities to achieve greener transition and sustainable development and spread the benefits to everyone.

“UAE is pioneering in various fields including global transition in the energy sector. From an environmental perspective, switching to renewable energy is a crucial step in reducing carbon emissions and addressing climate change. Moving away from fossil fuels helps mitigate the impact of global warming and reduces environmental pollution,” said Al Tayer

DEWA Projects

Al Tayer also spoke about DEWA’s projects including the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world.

“This project is based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model with a capacity of 5,000 megawatts by 2030. Our other pioneering projects include the green hydrogen production project and the pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant in Hatta, among others.”

Fossil fuel

He added that several years ago, DEWA stopped launching any new fossil-fuel energy projects. “We have also restricted new water desalination projects to reverse osmosis technology using clean energy. During the past decade, the cost of solar energy in DEWA’s projects decreased from 11 cents per kilowatt hour to just 1.69 cents, while efficiency doubled from 11 per cent to about 24 per cent,” he added.

“The transition to renewable energy is reshaping global power dynamics, as countries rich in renewable energy resources, such as the solar-rich countries in the Middle East and the wind-rich countries in northern Europe, gain strategic importance in the global energy landscape, contributing to lowering the cost of energy for consumers,” noted Al Tayer.

Al Tayer noted that despite the significant technological challenges that still need to be overcome, nuclear fusion remains one of the most promising sources of clean and almost unlimited energy in the same context. “While nuclear fission has been a proven source of low-carbon energy for decades, ongoing research and development efforts focus on enhancing safety, radioactive waste disposal management, and cost effectiveness, “ he added.