CEO Of DEWA Discusses Enhancing Cooperation with Korean Companies

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), discussed enhancing cooperation with Korean companies with Chun Young Wook, Consul General of Korea to Dubai, and Youngsoo Kim, Consul at the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Dubai, at DEWA’s headquarters. The meeting was attended by Waleed Salman, Executive Vice President of Business Development and Excellence, and Khawla Al Mehairi, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Government Communications at DEWA.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Consul General praised the strong relations between South Korea and the UAE in general and Dubai in particular. This resulted in close cooperation between the two sides in many areas.

The Korean Consul expressed his admiration for the leadership in Dubai, which has made the Emirate a global role model and an essential centre for Korean companies. He highlighted the similarities between the two sides in many areas such as innovation and reliance on modern technologies, and the transition towards renewable and clean energy. Al Tayer said that the success of Dubai is mainly due to the vision and guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who does not recognise the word impossible and aims to make Dubai number one globally in all areas.

Al Tayer pointed to the close relations between DEWA and a number of Korean companies that take part in its projects. These include the Korean Electric Power Company (KEPCO) and Korea’s Doosan. He also underlined the shared vision of the UAE and South Korea in environmental protection, commending Korea for joining the Countries Platform, one of the platforms of the World Green Economy Organisation (WGEO) based in Dubai.

He also noted that a large number of Korean companies take part in the Korean pavilion in the Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX), which DEWA organises annually. DEWA is organising the 20th WETEX and the 3rd Dubai Solar Show from 23-25 October 2018 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. The meeting also discussed DEWA’s key projects to achieve the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to diversify the energy mix, and increase the share of clean energy in Dubai’s total power output to 75% by 2050.

DEWA’s projects to achieve this strategy include the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which will produce 5,000MW by 2030. Al Tayer highlighted the developments in solar power technologies over the past few years, noting that DEWA has an advanced solar-tracking system in the 200MW first stage of the 800MW third phase of the solar park, as well as using self-cleaning solar panels that maintain a high-performance level. DEWA is currently building the largest single-site Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project in the world with an investment of AED 14.2 billion as part of the fourth phase of the solar park.

Al Tayer also highlighted DEWA’s Green Charger initiative to develop the infrastructure for electric-vehicle charging stations. DEWA has installed over 100 Green Chargers across Dubai and is increasing the number to 200 by the end of this year.

Al Tayer highlighted DEWA’s efforts in improving energy efficiency on both supply and demand, and reducing Unaccounted for Water from 42 percent in 1988 to 7.1 percent currently, which is one of the lowest percentages globally

. DEWA also succeeded in reducing Electricity Line Losses from 7 percent to 3.3 percent and Customer Minutes Lost to 2.68 per year, which is the lowest worldwide. The generation efficiency increased by 28.86 percent from 2006 to 2017. The UAE, represented by DEWA, ranked first in the world in getting electricity in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2018 report.

At the end of the visit, Tayer invited the Consul General to visit WETEX and participate in the World Green Economy Summit (WGES 2018) next month. He also invited Korean companies to participate in DEWA’s projects, especially in smart technologies and networks and electric vehicles. Wook thanked Al Tayer for the warm welcome and for sharing DEWA’s key projects and initiatives.