HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has delivered the keynote speech at RetrofitTech Dubai. Present were Saeed Alabbar, CEO of the Emirates Green Building Council, Stephane Le Gentil, CEO of Etihad Energy Services, and a large number of government and private officials. These included the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, Etihad Energy Services, Dubai Chamber, the Regulatory and Supervisory Bureau in Dubai, Al Futtaim Group, sustainability and green-building specialists, energy service companies, developers, and district-cooling companies.

The conference, held on 16-17 March 2015 at Sheraton Grand Hotel, Dubai, discusses different topics related to retrofitting existing buildings to green building standards, innovative financing models to implement energy-efficiency strategies, and monitoring and measuring post-retrofit performance to ensure expected savings and reductions.

In his keynote speech, Al Tayer emphasised the importance of the conference; hoping that it will have an effective role in supporting the strategies of Dubai Government and the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy to reduce energy consumption and retrofit existing buildings, to make them green and environmentally-friendly.

Over the past years, the UAE has made real progress in addressing energy security and efficiency, and promoting renewable energy. Our wise leaderships commitment and continuous support for environmental protection and development, has had a great impact on promoting these issues. The UAE Vision 2021 intends to establish a sustainable environment for the UAE, while the long-term national Green Economy for Sustainable Development initiative, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, intends to establish the UAE as a world leader in this field; building a sustainable environment that supports long-term economic growth. For Dubai, the Dubai Plan 2021 intends to make Dubai a city with sustainable resources, and whose environmental elements are clean, healthy, and sustainable, said Al Tayer.

Al Tayer noted that the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030, announced by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, intends to promote the sustainable development of Dubai and establish the Emirate as a role model in energy security and efficiency, reduce energy demand by 30%, and reduce carbon emissions by over 5 million tonnes by 2030. The demand-side management strategy has 8 main programmes. These include regulations for green building construction, retrofitting of existing buildings, district cooling, laws and standards to raise efficiency, and energy-efficient street lighting. Dubai seeks to reduce energy consumption and increase efficiency as two key elements that contribute to the Emirates competitiveness and economic sustainability, he added.

Diversification of energy sources and ensuring its sustainability are among the key elements for the transformation to smart and sustainable cities. Using renewable energy and implementing demand-side management programmes in smart cities contribute to achieving a diversified sustainable economy. Reducing energy demand by 30% by 2030 in Dubai will achieve various environmental and economic objectives. The present costs for this strategic project will be approximately AED 30 billion, with returns of AED 82 billion, and a net present profit of AED 52 billion, noted Al Tayer.
DEWA has a clear vision to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility. Sustainability is an integral part of our vision and is at the heart of our work. We have incorporated it in all our projects. At DEWA, we work to enhance efficiency in our energy-production operations as well as in our buildings. We increased this efficiency by 22% between 2006 and 2014. We also adhere to green building standards in all our new projects. DEWAs Sustainable Building in Al Quoz is the first sustainable government building in the UAE and the largest government building in the world to receive a Platinum Rating for green buildings from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Earlier this year, we signed two contracts for energy efficiency with Etihad Energy Service Company (Etihad ESCO), at a combined value of AED 37 million to improve and enhance overall energy efficiency of the lighting infrastructure of the power plants at Jebel Ali, Al Awir, and 7 DEWA-owned buildings. DEWA is proud to lead by example by implementing energy-efficiency through the innovative energy performance contracting model, which is new to the region. Our partnership with Etihad ESCO will further drive public-private partnerships that support the vision of making Dubai a leading example of energy efficiency for the region and the world, added Al Tayer.

I wish you all the success in this conference. I am confident it will have important results that will drive the energy-efficiency market. This will support sustainable development and establish Dubai as a role model for energy performance contracting markets, regionally and globally, concluded Al Tayer.