Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) | DEWA supports the realisation of sustainability through a roadmap based on promising projects and eco-friendly practices

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) adopts a well though-out roadmap to implement all sustainability measures in DEWA’s transactions and activities across all its divisions. Environmental practices are a key pillar to meet DEWA’s commitment to leadership as a global organisation. DEWA is keen to achieve the environmental, social, and economic aspects of sustainability, to support the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100% of the energy production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050, as well as the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

Clean and sustainable energy sources:

Since 1992, DEWA has continued to develop and expand its production capacity, as well as its ability to keep pace with the increasing demand for energy in Dubai. The demand for power reached 56.5 TWh in 2023 marking a 6.3% annual increase from the 53.2 TWh recorded in 2022. Notably, DEWA generated 6.2 TWh of clean power during the year, which is 32.7% increase over the previous year. This clean power accounted for 11% of the total power generated in 2023. DEWA is committed to using clean energy to maintain a sustainable generation mix to meet the consistently growing demand. DEWA’s total capacity increased to 16,270MW of electricity and 495 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD) of desalinated water. This includes 2,627MW from renewable energy sources, especially solar power. In 2023, DEWA reduced 9.1 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. This included 6.6 million tonnes through its efficiency improvement and emission reduction initiatives and 2.5 million tonnes through the operating phases of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

“In line with our keenness to provide sustainable services, DEWA continues to provide energy and water supplies according to the highest standards to meet the increasing demand for energy and keep pace with the population growth in Dubai. DEWA is working tirelessly to turn Dubai into a global hub for clean energy by providing 100% of the energy production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050. DEWA strives to meet the increasing demand for power and water services by implementing pioneering and sustainable projects using clean and renewable energy sources. This supports the UAE’s efforts to keep pace with the transition in the energy sector by enhancing capabilities in the clean energy and reducing carbon emissions locally and globally,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.

Sustainable projects:

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park that DEWA is implementing is the largest single-site solar park in the world, based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model, with a planned production capacity of 5,000W by 2030 and total investments of AED 50 billion. The solar park’s current production capacity has reached 2,627MW.

DEWA has also launched several promising projects being implemented at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. These include the Green Hydrogen project that DEWA has implemented. It is the first project of its kind in the MENA region to produce hydrogen using solar power. The pilot project has been designed and built to accommodate future applications and test platforms for various uses of hydrogen, including energy production and transportation. The production of green hydrogen is mainly carried out through electrolysis using renewable energy sources. In 2023, DEWA received the Hydrogen Project of the Year Award for its green hydrogen project at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. DEWA is also building a pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant in Hatta, which is first of its kind in the GCC, with investments of up to AED 1.421 billion. The project will have a production capacity of 250 MW, a storage capacity of 1,500 megawatt-hours, and a life span of 80 years. This system boasts high efficiency in power generation and storage, reaching up to 78.9%, with a rapid 90-second response to electricity demand.

DEWA’s digital transformation strategy:

DEWA aims to develop a corporate wide digital transformation strategy to define its digital aspiration, key areas of work and prepare a roadmap to achieve effective and value-added digital transformation across all divisions to support stakeholders’ happiness. DEWA provides high-quality and advanced digital services through innovative channels that ensure continuous improvement of its processes and procedures. By the end of 2023, adoption of DEWA’s smart services had reached 99.62%, and DEWA’s customers had conducted over 12.5 million digital transactions.

Rammas:

Rammas is the first robot launched by a government organisation to serve customers and answer their enquiries in Arabic and English. Rammas has been developed and launched to support DEWA’s customer service centres by simulating DEWA employees.

DEWA’s smart document system:

DEWA Smart Document system is a smart app that provides various services and operations to DEWA employees. All employees can easily access the app anytime, anywhere to perform their day-to-day work-related services.

Digital integration:

DEWA has completed the digital integration of more than 70 projects with government and private organisations. Through this step, DEWA makes it easier to get a wide range of services, including bill payment, information updates, activation of electricity/water (Move-in), housing fees adjustment, refunds, and updating trade license among others. In 2021, DEWA received the 100% Paperless Stamp from Digital Dubai Authority.

Volunteering campaigns to preserve a sustainable environment:

In cooperation with the Emirates Marine Environmental Group, DEWA organised four campaigns in 2023 to clean the beaches and plant mangroves at the Jebel Ali Marine Sanctuary. DEWA realises the importance of mangrove trees to preserve biodiversity, especially in the marine ecosystem. These campaigns support national goals to promote the sustainability of mangrove forests by planting 100 million mangrove trees in the UAE by 2030.

Annual Sustainability Report in accordance with GRI:

DEWA has been preparing its annual sustainability report since 2013, following the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and in accordance with the UN SDGs and the principles of the UN Global Compact.

The report reflects DEWA’s ongoing efforts to keep pace with developments. DEWA is keen to adopt the latest GRI guidelines 2021, which entail that this edition will enter into force for data that will be published in or after 2023. DEWA aligned its previous (10th) report, which reflects its performance in 2022, with the revised universal standards 2021 well in advance of the mandatory implementation deadline. DEWA continues to implement the latest update on GRI standards and its disclosure requirements for utilities (G4) in its report.

International awards:

DEWA has won the Hydrogen Project of the Year 2023 Award for its green hydrogen project at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. This was part of the Hydrogen Future Awards 2023, organised during the ‘Connecting Green Hydrogen MENA’ (CGHM2023) conference in Dubai.