DEWA delegation visits Siemens and RWE in Frankfurt

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA)’s delegation, headed by Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, visited Siemens in Frankfurt, Germany.

The visit promoted mutual relations, exchanged best practices and experiences, and enabled the delegation to learn about Siemens’ achievements in smart cities and grids, energy storage, the latest international practices in sustainable energy, and the diversification of its resources. DEWA’s visit to Frankfurt came after an official invitation from Siemens.

The delegation was received by Wolfgang Braun Senior Executive Vice President at Siemens Middle East and other officials.

The delegation included Waleed Salman, Executive Vice President of Strategy & Business Development at DEWA, Dr Yousef Al Akraf, Executive Vice President of Business Support and Human Resources at DEWA, Mohammed Abdul Kareem Al Shamsi, Senior Manager of Sustainability and Climate Change at DEWA, and Ahmed Abdullah, Senior Manager of External Communications at DEWA.

During his visit, Al Tayer learned about Siemens’ electro-lyser technology and applications ( Hydrogen Cells), which is a simple form of technology to store solar energy. The technology is capable of converting electricity into hydrogen, and uses an electrolyser to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen, while producing and storing energy.

Al Tayer also visited Siemens facilities and establishments that specialise in building, smart grids and smart control systems.

In Frankfurt, Al Tayer also met Peter Terium, Group Chief Executive Officer, of RWE Germany to share experiences, knowledge, and research in renewable energy.

DEWA established RWE Middle East in partnership with RWE to provide consultancy services in technical, economic, and environmental analysis of alternative energy scenarios, testing of smart grid measures, energy storing and efficiency, improved reliability of solar cells, and value-added products and services for smart grids and cooperation in academic and scientific programmes.

"This visit is intended to build strategic partnerships with the best international companies in energy, and exchange best experiences in clean and renewable energy, to develop DEWA’s operations to the highest standards of availability, efficiency, and, reliability, achieving the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to transform Dubai into the smartest city in the world, and achieving our vision to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility," said Al Tayer.

"We are working to achieve the Smart Dubai initiative, to make Dubai the smartest city in the world through smart initiatives to achieve the sustainable development of the Emirate. Shams Dubai allows customers to install photovoltaic panels on their rooftops to generate electricity from solar power. The electricity is used onsite and the surplus is exported to DEWA’s network. Smart Applications and Meters improve response times, speeds up connections, provide instant re-connection of electricity, and rationalise its use through smart meters to enhance the happiness and well-being of citizens and residents, and to support resources sustainability. It also aims to build integrated smart grids that cover generation, transmission, and distribution systems. The smart grid includes demand-side management, asset management, distribution automation, substation automation, system integration, and smart meters, worth a total investment of AED7 billion," said Al Tayer.

"The Green Charger initiative consists of three phases, the first phase started in the second quarter of 2014 and was successfully completed by the end of 2015 in coordination with the relevant parties, to reduce our carbon footprint. 100 charging stations were installed in various areas of Dubai, like malls, airports, commercial buildings, residential complexes, and petrol stations. DEWA continues to take steady, confident steps to achieve comprehensive sustainability, as envisioned by the wise leadership of Dubai and the UAE," added Al Tayer.

"We adopt a holistic approach based on the latest international technologies. We collaborate with our strategic partners in research and development, building capabilities, the latest solar technologies, energy storage, CO2 capture, increasing efficiency in the production, transmission, and distribution of electricity and water, security of energy supplies, and producing energy using clean coal using the Ultra-supercritical (USC) technology," continued Al Tayer.

"We are working to build a solar-powered water pumping and desalination station at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park that uses photovoltaic solar panels to desalinate water with Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology, with a production capacity of 50 cubic meters a day. The project is part of DEWA’s efforts to enhance Research and Development. It also provides R&D establishments in the park with high-quality drinking water. DEWA cooperates with international organisations to research the desalination water by using solar energy. This supports DEWA and the UAE Water Aid Foundation's (Suqia)’s efforts to provide clean water to the needy, as it studies and researches the production of water using solar power, it also contributes to financing and supporting water-technology projects to combat drought. The project will desalinate water to a quality as high as bottled drinking water, by using innovative technology. All pumping and desalination water at the station will be done using hybrid electric resources, that combine photovoltaic cells with a capacity of 100 kilowatts (kW), and batteries with capacities of 520kWh, every day," said Al Tayer.

"This project is key to our producing desalinated water by using solar energy, in addition to the integrated energy storage system. This allows the station to work non-stop for 24 hours a day. In the future, this technology will surpass current water production technologies. DEWA is developing this efficient and flexible technology to the point where we will no longer need to rely on traditional energy resources," Al Tayer added.

"We are working to achieve the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, to produce 75% of its energy from clean sources by 2050. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the largest single-site strategic renewable energy project of its kind in the world, based on the IPP model. The 13MW first phase became operational in 2013. The 200MW second phase of the Solar Park will be operational in April next year. Its capacity will reach 1,000MW by 2020 and 5,000 MW by 2030. The project will help achieve a reduction of approximately 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually."

DEWA is currently working with Siemens on the Jebel Ali M-Station expansion. The new plant will add a further 700MW to the installed generating capacity of M-Station at Jebel Ali, boosting its capacity to 2,760MW when the project is completed in 2018. The project is worth AED1.47 billion. The expansion project includes adding two gas turbine generators, two heat recovery steam turbine generators and one back-pressure steam turbine. M-Station is the newest and largest power production and desalination plant in the UAE, with a total capacity of 2,060MW of electricity and 140 million imperial gallons of water per day (MIGD). The station adopts the highest levels of availability, reliability, and efficiency, using the most advanced technologies in the world.

Source:WAM