Renewable Green Leaders Magazine: Promoting a Sustainable Future for Generations to Come by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA)

RENEWABLE GREEN LEADERS 

Bio | Geothermal | Hydro | Finance | Green Buildings | Legal | Recycle | Solar | Sustainability | Upcycle | Storage | Tidal | Waste | Wind 

Promoting A 

Sustainable Future 

For Generations 

To Come 

His Excellency 

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer 

Vice Chairman of the Dubai 

Supreme Council of Energy 

and MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity 

and Water Authority (DEWA) 

Special Features: 

Another Record Breaking Year 

For Renewable Energy 

ABB: Partners For A Clean Future 

Kingspan PalDuct For Dubai Sustainable City 

Will PAYG Be The Next Leapfrog That 

Disrupts Traditional Economies? 

Dubai Science Park: Delivering Excellence 

To Dubai’s Science Community 

The Three Engineering Fields Bill Gates Wants 

You To Focus On 

Going The Extra Mile with Hilti 

JULY 2017 

ISSUE NO. 003

Sponsored Article 

MadTree Brewing 

Craft brewer to incorporate 

Veolia’s Sirion Mega technology 

to produce high purity water 

MAINTAIN 

PRODUCT 

QUALITY 

Fast growing and critically acclaimed 

Cincinnati craft brewer MadTree 

Brewing has chosen Veolia Water 

Technologies’ Sirion Mega technology 

solution to ensure water quality control as 

the brewer undergoes a planned expansion. 

The 100 GPM (gallons per minute) RO unit 

produces high purity water, removing up to 

97% of dissolved inorganic and more than 

99% of large dissolved organic material, 

colloids and particles—providing consistent 

water quality for MadTree’s beer production 

process. Any excess output from the RO will 

be directed to the boiler as water make-up 

thereby further delivering increased water & 

energy efficiency in operations. 

Currently producing approximately 25,000 

barrels of beer a year, the brewery expansion 

will increase production to 35,000 barrels 

annually. Furthermore there is enough 

room to support future growth by adding 

potential capacity to boost output to 

180,000 barrels. 

consistent quality and taste of the beers. As 

such, we didn't want a standard RO unit.” 

Hunt continued: “What we found most 

appealing about Veolia's RO technology was 

its ability to provide feedback, which will 

allow us to fine-tune the incoming water as 

needed to be able to produce the high quality 

of beers our customers expect. Moving ahead 

we are fortunate to be able to call upon 

Veolia's industry experience and technological 

expertise to help make sure we maintain the 

high quality standards that have fueled our 

growth.” 

As part of the largest water company in the 

world, Veolia Water Technologies enjoys a 

commanding presence in the beer brewing 

industry with more than 150 – and growing 

– brewery customers globally. Veolia’s more 

than 350 proprietary technologies support 

its solutions and service value across the 

entire spectrum of the brewing process 

– from product & process water, to water 

recycling and wastewater solutions. 

According to co-founder Jeff Hunt, 

maintaining product quality was the 

brewer’s over-riding objective when it 

contemplated expanding production to 

meet increased customer demand. "Since 

water makes up 95% of beer, water quality 

plays an important part influencing our beer’s 

flavor profile. As we planned for our new, 

expanded production facility it was critical to 

us to be able to control the incoming water of 

our brewing process to insure we maintained 

“We’ve seen the explosive growth in the craft 

brewing sector of the market, particularly in 

the U.S.,” said Ted Lawson, Marketing Director 

for Veolia Water Technologies, “and we 

recognize the growing needs these brewers 

have for improving both process water and 

wastewater treatment. We are committed 

to leveraging our technical knowledge and 

experience to add value by helping emerging 

brewers grow and succeed.”

Sponsored Article 

Paulaner 

brewery 

Environmentally friendly 

wastewater treatment 

The Paulaner brewery is one of the bestknown 

German breweries, with a long 

tradition of the finest Munich art of brewing. 

The annual production exceeds 2 million 

hectoliters. The popularity of Paulaner beer 

has always extended beyond the city limits of 

Munich, both nationally and internationally. 

Paulaner beer is enjoyed in more than 70 

countries worldwide. 

The challenge 

Due to the increasing popularity 

of Paulaner beer the existing 

production site Nockherberg 

in the center of Munich 

reached its limits. In order 

to secure ample capacities 

for future growth, Paulaner 

decided to move the production 

to Munich-Langwied. The new 

site has sufficient space as well as 

excellent connections to the highway. 

The new brewery had to be built with an 

emphasis on modern and environmentally 

friendly brewery technology as well as an 

energy and emission-optimized infrastructure. 

The solution 

The beer production process generates 

organically loaded wastewater streams which 

are easily biodegradable. With conventional 

biological treatment, biological degradation is 

achieved by using aerobic organisms. These, 

however, need to be fed with oxygen, resulting 

in high operating costs and CO 2 

emissions. 

Paulaner selected an environmentally friendly 

anaerobic treatment. The degradation 

process does not need oxygen, so the energy 

consumption is considerably reduced. Another 

advantage is the production of energy-rich 

biogas, which can be used on site in the boiler 

house. 

To ensure a high level of operational 

reliability for their future 

wastewater treatment, Paulaner 

chose the proven Biobed® system 

supplied by Aquantis, a German 

subsidiary of the leading Veolia 

Water Technologies group. 

Key Figures 

• Wastewater volume: 

2,800 m³/d 

• Load: 

23,500 kg COD/d 

• Biogas production: 

385 Nm³/h

Renewable Green Leaders • July 2017 

5

John Vauden 

Senior Editor 

Asia-Paciic 

Hina Sapra 


South Asia 

Therese Matheren 


North America 

Engr. Randy Williams 

Guest Editor 

North America 

Amanda Pelletier 


North America 

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Editor-In-Chief 

editor@GineersNow.com 

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Senior Editor-At-Large 

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North America 

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United Arab Emirates 

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Manager 

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As we head towards a new era of renewable energy, several 

companies have already made the shift and new leaders have 

emerged to set a good example for other companies to follow. 

With the alarming news of how climate change is rapidly affecting 

everyone around the world, it’s about time that everyone - from big 

institutions to individual citizens - join the movement to help save 

the environment and mankind. 

EDITOR’S 

NOTE 

In this month’s GineersNow: Renewable Green Leaders, we put 

the spotlight on Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). It 

is one of the leading government utilities in the world, providing 

services today to more than 800,000 customers with a satisfaction 

and happiness rate that reached 95% in 2016. Learn more 

about how DEWA is promoting a sustainable future for the new 

generations to come and get to know the man behind DEWA’s 

management, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, HIs 

Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer. 

We are also featuring special stories from several companies such 

as Kingspan, CLS Energy Consultants , Dubai Carbon, Applant, 

ABB, Hilti, Mobisol, and Inmesol. 

Find out how Applant’s new Kickstarter campaign is going to 

make an impact in vertical farming. Learn more about Renewables 

2017 Global Status Report, which was published by REN21, as it 

reports that 2017 is a record breaking year for renewable energy. 

We have also featured Mobisol’s special report on PAYG (Pay As 

You Go) and how it disrupts traditional economies in East Africa, 

making solar home system distribution easier in the area. 

Read our special story from Hilti which features the former PT&A 

Product Manager, Konstantin Fedin, story on how he turned his 

passion for battery technology into a year long project and how he 

succeeded with Hilti. You also don’t want to miss the new details 

about Dubai Science Park as it delivers excellence to Dubai’s 

Science Community. Lastly, find out which engineering fields Bill 

Gates wants you to focus on. 

Now, get excited for more interesting stories in the renewable 

industry! So sit back and learn something new today. Keep up with 

the latest trends on this Industry with GineersNow: Renewable 

Green Leaders. 

Engr. Alice Hernandez 

Senior Editor-at-Large

Contents 

Kingspan PalDuct For Dubai 

Sustainable City 

DEWA: Promoting A Sustainable Future 

For Generations To Come 

Bill Gates Wants You to Consider These 3 

as Your Engineering Fields of Focus 

10 

12 

18 

UAE Delegation Marks Successful 

Participation at World Scientific and 

Engineering Congress (WSEC 2017) 


for Renewable Energy 

36 

38 

ABB: Partners For A Clean Future 40 

Dubai Science Park – Delivering 

Excellence to Dubai’s Science Community 

20 

Will PAYG Be The Next Leapfrog That 

Disrupts Traditional Economies? 

44 

Minister of Climate Change and 

Environment Releasing 30,000 Fish in 

Marine Protected Areas in Dibba, Fujairah 

Commercial Viability Of Battery Based 

Energy Storage Supported Solar 

Desalination 

Solar Power to Ensure A Genset’s Start-up 

and Function at Sites With No Mains 

Available 

New Melbourne-Based Ag-Tech Company, 

Applant, is Releasing The First Manual 

Vertical Farming Unit, aTree 

24 

26 

30 

32 

GOING THE EXTRA MILE. Batteries included 34 

Connecting The Dots: 

For A Sustainable Emirate 

Sterling and Wilson Scales New Heights; 

Gets Awarded the World’s Largest Solar PV 

Plant 

The Technology Behind the World’s 

Largest Floating Photovoltaic Power Plant 

Thermal Storage: The Greenest Way To 

Boost PV Self-Consumption 

Age-Old Technology Is Making Its Way 

Back Thanks To Renewables 

48 

53 

54 

55 

56


9 

9

Kingspan PalDuct For 

Dubai Sustainable City 

20,000 m 2 of the Kingspan PalDuct PIR System 

has been installed into the 500 townhouses and 

villas that form the residential section of Dubai’s 

Sustainable City. 

The modern application of social, economic 

and environmental sustainability embodies the 

Sustainable City, Dubai. Diamond Developers 

achieved this through innovative design, 

stakeholder engagement and future monitoring 

to sustain itself. The city is modelled to become a 

global reference point for sustainable living, work, 

education and recreation, as the first functioning 

Net Zero Energy city in Dubai. The city spans over 

450,000 m 2 *(46 ha.) and provides a complete 

suite of facilities and environmental features. The 

first phase of the City is nearing completion and 

comprises five residential clusters, a buffer zone, 

a central green spine, an equestrian club, and a 

mixed use development. 

Diamond Developers have created several 

strategies set to redefine sustainable livingin hot 

climates and encourage the global movement 

towards sustainable development.A water 

strategy was developed, which includes water 

saving devices, grey water recycling, and treated 

sewage effluent reuse in landscape irrigation. 

They have also targeted to achieve 100 percent 

waste diversion from landfills through a waste 

management strategy. The clusters within the city 

are car-free zones and only accessible on foot 

or by electric buggies through narrow “sikkas” 

that link the city together. This strategy is set to 

encourage residents to depend less on motorised 

transport and more on walking and bicycling. 

Construction of the second phase of TSC will 

commence this year and will comprise the Indigo 

Hotel, a Country Club and Rehabilitation Centre, 

a School, and the Innovation Hub. 

The Kingspan PalDuct PIR System is fabricated 

by specially trained contractors from Kingspan 

PalDuct PIR panels. Once fabricated, it forms an 

innovative pre-insulated HVAC ductwork system. 

The System’s inherent low level of air leakage 

can result in considerably reduced electrical 

consumption. With The Kingspan PalDuct PIR 

System, ventilation air flows over aluminium 

surfaces and does not have contact with any 

material containing loose fibres, making it ideal 

for high specification projects. 

The System is significantly lighter in weight than 

traditional sheet metal ducting, which also takes 

much longer to fabricate. Sheet metal ducting 

needs to be thermally insulated as a second 

process, however, the lightweight but strong 

Kingspan PalDuct PIR System requires only a 

single fix installation. This not only delivers a 

faster option for projects where time is critical, 

but also provides substantial space saving 

advantages. 

For further information please contact: Tel: +971 (0) 4 889 1000 Fax: +971 (0) 43 883 8515 

10 Renewable Green Leaders • July 2017

12 Renewable Green Leaders • July 2017 

Dubai Electricity 

And Water Authority (DEWA): 

Promoting A 

Sustainable Future 

For Generations 

To Come

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) 

is one of the leading government utilities in the 

world providing services today to more than 

800,000 customers with a satisfaction and 

happiness rate that reached 95% in 2016. 

DEWA has achieved competitive results, 

surpassing leading European and American 

companies by reducing losses in power 

transmission and distribution networks to 

3.3%, compared to 6-7% in Europe and the 

USA. Water network losses decreased to 8.0%, 

compared to 15% in North America. DEWA’s 

results are among the best internationally for 

customer minutes lost per year. DEWA’s figures 

reached 3.28 minutes, compared to 15 minutes 

recorded by leading utilities in the European 

Union. The UAE, represented by DEWA, 

has been ranked first in the Middle East and 

North Africa and fourth globally for the fourth 

consecutive year for getting electricity as per the 

World Bank’s Doing Business 2017 report. 

DEWA was formed on 1 January 1992, by a 

decree issued by the late Sheikh Maktoum bin 

Rashid Al Maktoum to merge Dubai Electricity 

Company and Dubai Water Department, which 

had been operating independently before then. 

Both organisations were established by the late 

Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum in 1959. 

Our long term goals derive from the Dubai Clean 

Energy Strategy (DCES 2050), launched by HH 

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, 

Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE 

and Ruler of Dubai, to transform Dubai into a 

global hub for clean energy and green economy. 

DCES 2050 sets a target for the provision of 7% 

of Dubai’s energy from clean energy sources by 

2020, increasing to 25% by 2030, and 75% by 

2050. The strategy also establishes a USD 27 

billion Dubai Green Zone, to create joint ventures 

with world-class players in renewable energy for 

Dubai to become a global centre for clean energy 

with the lowest carbon footprint in the world by 

2050. 

DEWA manages and operates the Mohammed 

bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is the 

largest single-site solar project in the world. It 

will produce 1,000MW by 2020 and 5,000MW by 

2030, with a total investment of USD 13.6 billion. 

In addition to our efforts to implement the Dubai 

Clean Energy Strategy 2050, DEWA supports 

the Smart Dubai Initiative to make Dubai the 

smartest and happiest city in the world. DEWA 

has three initiatives to support Smart Dubai. The 

first initiative is called Shams Dubai to encourage 

building owners to install solar photovoltaic 

panels to offset their energy use and export 

excess power to the power grid. The second 

initiative is currently installing more than a million 

smart meters across Dubai by 2020, to replace 

all mechanical and electro-mechanical meters 


13

during the next few years. The third is the rollout 

of electric vehicle charging stations across Dubai 

to support the directives of Dubai Government 

to ensure that, between 2016 and 2020, 2% of 

all cars purchased are either electric or hybrid 

vehicles, with the target set to increase to 10% by 

2030. 

The generation of electricity through solar 

and renewable energy in the UAE marks the 

beginning of a new era of an economy that is 

based on environmental sustainability and clean 

energy. This supports the vision of HH Sheikh 

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum - for Dubai to 

be the city with the lowest carbon footprint in the 

world. This also supports the long-term National 

Green Economy for Sustainable Development 

initiative to build a green economy in the UAE, 

and the Dubai Plan 2021 for Dubai to be a 

smart and sustainable city whose environmental 

elements are clean, healthy, and sustainable. 

In line with our leadership’s vision to promote 

Dubai’s sustainable development, the Dubai 

Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 has been 

developed in alignment with the strategy of 

Dubai Government. This energy strategy puts the 

security of supply amongst its key objectives; 

to achieve sustainable development, meet the 

needs of both present and future generations and 

to create an urban infrastructure with sustainable 

resources for Dubai, affirming our city’s leading 

role in solar energy and creating a new sector 

in the region. Our wise leadership realises the 

importance of providing energy supplies and 

finding alternative solutions to traditional energy, 

and the importance of developing renewable and 

alternative energy, because it has a direct impact 

on sustainable development. 

We look forward to adopting the best electricity 

and water technologies and promote partnerships 

with the private sector across the world. Such 

partnerships are important for both parties as 

DEWA gets the most modern technologies, while 

those companies have strategic opportunities 

to continue enhancing their technologies. Our 

ambitious goals for Dubai can only be achieved 

when we collaborate with each other to make 

Dubai a smart and sustainable city, as well as the 

preferred place to live, work and visit. 

We are currently building our new headquarters 

which will be the largest, tallest and smartest 

net Zero Energy Building (ZEB) in the world. To 

be ready in 2019 ‘Alsheraa’ which is Arabic for 

‘sail’, the building is designed like a ship’s sail, 

reminiscent of the country’s pearl and fishing 

dhow past, which are major elements of the 

UAE’s heritage, and a symbol of sustainability. 


The building will aim for a LEED Platinum rating, 

which is the highest attainable certification in 

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental 

Design). 

The total built up area of Alsheraa will be over 

1.5 million square feet and will accommodate 

5,000 employees in addition to customers and 

visitors. It will have over 16,500 square metres 

of Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels producing 

over 3,500 kilowatts (kW). There will be over 

2,000 square metres of Building Integrated 

Photovoltaic (BIPV). In addition, the building will 

use the latest technologies including Internet of 

Things (IoT), Big Data and Open Technologies, 

and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Cleaning and 

security robots will be used, in addition to a 

smart app on smart devices for easy updates to 

staff, regarding traffic conditions while travelling 

to and from work. The app will make employees 

aware of their energy consumption and assist 

them in improving the overall energy budget 

management, which will be overseen by a stateof-the-art 

building management and control 

centre, which will automatically shut down nonessential 

systems including air-conditioning and 

lighting, when not in use. 

DEWA’s growing list of projects, initiatives 

and programmes reflects its commitment 

to supporting sustainable development by 

increasing its dependence on natural resources, 

and changing the future of energy in the region. 

DEWA aims to achieve sustainability, promote 

prosperity and the well-being of citizens, 

residents, and visitors alike, while ensuring a 

sustainable future for generations to come. 


15

His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer 

Vice Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy 

and MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA)

Managing Director and 

Chief Executive Officer 

Biography: 

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer is Dubai Electricity & 

Water Authority’s Managing Director & Chief 

Executive Officer focusing on driving growth and 

execution within the Emirate of Dubai. He has an 

overall experience of more than 30 years in the field 

of telecommunication, energy and water. 

Mr. Al Tayer has led DEWA since 1991 and has been 

a key contributor to its ever growing success. 

Under his leadership Dewa has seen exponential 

growth, and succeeded in transforming DEWA into 

a forward-looking, commercially minded utility with 

state-of-the-art assets base and strong financial 

profile, he has launched a number of key business 

initiatives. Saeed has been in the forefront in 

localization, bringing focus to his innovative ideas 

and vision for building an empowered and fully 

independent business unit. 

He is the member of Government of Dubai’s 

Executive Council, Dubai’s Economic Council, Dubai 

Supreme Fiscal Committee, Chairman of the Dubai 

Infrastructure Committee, Chairman of Empower, 

Chairman of Dubai Nuclear Committee, Vice 

Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, 

member of the Higher Committee of the Emirates 

National Grid, Vice Chairman of Dubal Holding , 

Vice Chairman of Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA), 

Chairman of the Dubai Global Energy Forum and 

Chairman of Emirates Energy Award and Founder 

and Chairman of WETEX – the Water, Energy, 

Technology and Environment Exhibition among other 

representations. 


17

Bill Gates Wants You to Consider These 3 

as Your Engineering Fields of Focus 

Bill Gates is known as a billionaire-philanthropist 

despite that he is a Harvard dropout. Considered as 

the world’s richest man, he co-founded one of the 

most valuable companies in the world, Microsoft. 

Go take his advice! 

In the same speech, he added that there is a huge 

growing demand in the energy industry to develop 

“reliable, cheap, and clean” energy. 

For such successes, he had earned his right to give 

an opinion on things which becomes influential to the 

decision of the majority. 

Recently, he shared which professions he thinks are 

the most promising or well-suited for graduates of 

today. He posted his unsolicited advice on Twitter. 

He used the words “impact,” “happiness,” and 

“progress,” over a series of tweets, but never 

“money.” This is what he wants engineers of this 

generation to focus on or to find when looking for a 

job. 

And when it comes to fields of the best interest in the 

future, Bill Gates said only three. 

“AI, energy and biosciences are promising fields 

where you can make a huge impact,” he said. 

This was consistent in what he said in a speech 

at Columbia University, mentioning that artificial 

intelligence had “phenomenal” potential, and 

“anything connected with that would be an exciting 

lifetime career.” 

Gates also talked about developments in biotech as 

moving “faster than ever,” making it an exciting field 

in the future, with a need for innovation to combat 

diseases such as cancer and obesity, and developing 

vaccines. 

Other than this, Gates reminded graduates to 

surround themselves with “people who challenge you, 

teach you and push you to be your best self,” and to 

think of others especially the less fortunate. 

That last reminder was perhaps a striking lesson, 

as Gates detailed about learning about the world’s 

worst inequities and described this lack of early 

understanding as his one big regret. 

“You know more than I did when I was your age,” he 

wrote. “You can start fighting inequity, whether down 

the street or around the world, sooner.” 

He added he believes the world is getting better. And 

that matters because “if you think the world is getting 

better, you want to spread the progress to more 

people and places.” 


Dubai Science 

Park – Delivering 

Excellence to 

Dubai’s Science 

Community 

Entrepreneurs, SMEs and multinational enterprises 

operating within the science sector have found 

a home conducive for their operations in Dubai 

Science Park (DSP), the region’s first science 

community that offers a vibrant platform for 

businesses to innovate and progress in a truly 

dynamic setting. Since its inception, the community 

has grown to more than 350 companies of all 

sizes in the life, energy and environmental science 

sectors. With the help of companies operating 

within the community, DSP is strengthening the 

position of Dubai as a destination for innovation 

within the science sector. 

What does DSP offer? 

DSP offers businesses a holistic environment that 

facilitates business growth; from providing ample 

office and laboratory space, a robust infrastructure 

and a vibrant community for residents, DSP ensures 

a supportive ecosystem for businesses to flourish 

and achieve regional and international expansion. 

Additionally, DSP’s vibrant community creates 

synergies and allows for like-minded professionals 

to network and host events that promote knowledge 

sharing and industry development. 

Offices: DSP offers its partners state of the art 

offices in a variety of sizes, giving businesses the 

flexibility to choose the space that suits their needs. 

Laboratories: In keeping with its vision and mission, 

DSP has designed laboratory space to the highest 

global standards. The core and shell spaces are 

equipped with air exhaust and ventilation systems, 

an acid resistance drainage, pH neutralization

system and other technical features to cater to its community. 

The eco-friendly Laboratory Complex has received LEED Silver 

Certification, portraying an environmentally responsible profile. 

Warehouses: DSP offers warehouse space designed 

specifically for storage, showroom, distribution, logistics and 

light manufacturing for the science sectors. Each warehouse 

encompasses a mezzanine floor for office and pantry. Grouped 

into a complex of 25, DSP’s warehouses span an area of 

approximately 5,000 sq. ft. each and adhere to the highest 

industry standards. They provide business partners with a 

convenient and secure facility to conduct their business. 

Due to high demand, DSP has recently broken ground for 

developing Phase 2 of its warehouses offering. 

Business Centre: Accommodating for the community’s 

small and medium-size companies, DSP features a dedicated 

Business Centre located, specifically equipped for the needs 

of start-up businesses with contemporary, furnished offices 

and open-space workstations. 

Through DSP’s Business Centre, you can efficiently set up 

business operations in a helpful and professional environment. 

The Business Centre delivers total office solutions; IT and 

telecom features, 24-hour security, fully furnished and 

equipped facilities, fast-track visa processing and much more. 

Success stories from DSP 

Greenza 

Soil health is fundamental to profitable and sustainable 

agriculture. Vital organic matter and nutrients are often 

destroyed, depleted, or otherwise lost from the soil through 

overuse of fertilizers, erosion, and runoff as a consequence of 

unsustainable farming practices. 

From DSP, Greenza has developed Bontera Microbial, a soil 

enhancer that is a scientifically formulated proprietary cocktail 

of more than 30 microbes carefully selected for their ability to 

rehabilitate the soil, making it healthier and more productive. 

Bontera is completely organic-based and environmentally 

friendly and is highly compatible with sustainable, organic 

farming practices. The liquid formula is easily administered 

through an irrigation or drip system. 

Key benefits 

- Enhanced soil and plant health 

- Increased soil nutrient content and enhanced 

availability of nutrients 

- Reduced need for chemical fertilizers

- Faster seed germination 

- Improved plant resistance to stresses 

- Higher yield and better quality produce 

Amerispec Diagnostics 

Amerispec Diagnostics was established in 

November 2015 with the vision of being the 

leading reference laboratory in the GCC and 

the Middle East in localising cutting edge 

clinical diagnostic technologies based on 

mass spectrometry (MS) and next generation 

sequencing (NGS), in the United Arab Emirates, 

and to be the premier local partner for the 

innovation and advancement in clinical and 

pharmaceutical research in the region. MS is 

an analytical technique used to determine the 

elemental composition of samples, quantifying 

the mass of particles and molecules, and 

regarded today to be the analytical tool of the 

highest possible accuracy for measurement and 

sensitivities to discern between close structure 

chemical species, where conventional clinical 

diagnostics assays using immunoassays and 

photometry will not be able to account for. 

The Next Generation Sequencing massively 

parallel or deep sequencing are related terms 

that describe a DNA sequencing technology 

which has revolutionised genomic research. 

Using NGS an entire human genome can be 

sequenced within a single day. 

In early 2016, a state-of-the art facility was set 

up at Dubai Science Park to provide locally 

these specialised clinical services in the United 

Arab Emirates to best support healthcare 

providers in the Gulf region, and the Middle 

East region. With this investment, Amerispec 

was able to provide local access to services 

that were sent out of the country to Europe and 

the United States of America, and took 7 to 10 

days for the results to return back to the treating 

physician. By localising these tests at Dubai 

Science Park, it could substantially reduce the 

results Turn Around Time for results to doctors 

to same day results, hence enhancing their 

medical decisions, and thus improving patient 

outcomes. 

Currently, Amerispec is partnering with 

Thermo Fisher Scientific in clinical research 

collaboration agreement to collaboratively 

develop novel clinical research application. Also, 

it provides in country testing for many of the 


crucial diagnostic assays such as monitoring 

for Immunosuppressant Drug Monitoring for 

transplant receivers, the crucial and closely 

related Vitamins such as 25-OH Vitamin D2&D3 

to help in modifying cancer risk and prevent 

bone disease, Steroid Hormones panel for 

women fertility treatment, and Antiepileptic’ 

Drug Monitoring which helps in adjusting 

dosage and treatment of all different types of 

chronic neurological ailments, as panel of tests 

to Hospitals, Polyclinics, and local laboratories. 

Today, Amerispec is working on introducing 

neonatal screening panels for up to 70 newborn 

errors that never been offered before in the 

Middle East, ensuring the health and prosperity 

for future generations to come. 

This was accomplished by using the latest 

Class 1 medical devices and technologies 

acquired from Thermo Fisher Scientific, the 

leading company in innovation into life science 

and research. Amerispec’s team of the finest 

scientists from the US to run the laboratory 

adhers to the highest level of quality mandated 

by Collage of American Pathologist (CAP) to 

ensure being in compliance with the standard 

measures of quality in the USA, while pursuing 

national and international lab accreditation 

such ISO 15189 offered by Dubai Accreditation 

Services (DAC), and enrolling and using 

proficiency testing materials of the Collage 

of American Pathologist (CAP). Amerispec is 

now on track for CAP accreditation of high 

complexity testing laboratory. 

Future of DSP 

DSP is evolving as a hub where more success 

stories can originate for the benefit of society. 

Expansion and growth are top on the agenda 

while also working to promote pharmaceutical 

production in Dubai. On the immediate horizon 

for DSP is the launch of its Headquarters (DSP 

HQ) – two landmark buildings that offer brand 

new business space to companies invested 

in scientific, environmental or pharmaceutical 

pursuits. The twin towers will create a relaxing 

and convenient environment for professionals 

and residents alike by providing numerous 

retail/service outlets and restaurants along with 

beautifully landscaped common areas. 

For more information about Dubai Science Park, 

please visit the website: http://www.dsp.ae 


23

Minister of Climate Change and 

Environment Releasing 30,000 Fish in 

Marine Protected Areas in Dibba, Fujairah 

His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, 

Minister of Climate Change and Environment, 

is releasing several big sized (150 grams) 

Rhabdosargus sarba (Qabit) and finned black 

seabream (Sha’am) fish in the waters of marine 

protected areas in Dibba, Fujairah. 

The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment 

is collaborating with “Fish Farm” to release 30,000 

fish marine protected areas in each emirate, 

starting in Fujairah, with the aim of promoting the 

sustainability of fish stock for future generations. 

The move comes within the framework of the 

‘Year of Giving’ initiative launched by the UAE 

President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed 

Al Nahyan, and in line with the directives of His 

Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin 

Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai. 

The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment 

has worked with municipalities and environmental 

bodies to coordinate the release of the fish in Ras 

Al Khor, Umm Al Quwain, Jebel Ali Marine Park in 

Dubai, Al Qurum Park in Abu Dhabi, Bird Island 

in Fujairah, Al Rams Creek in Ras Al Khaimah, Al 

Zorah Natural Reserve in Ajman and in Sharjah. 

The Ministry is determined to ensure the 

sustainability of the UAE’s living marine resources 

and to support the food security in the country 

through launching various initiatives, including 

the identification of commercial fish species that 

are being exploited, as well as to develop the 

local fish species breeding program and provide 

technical services and advice to local fish farms. 


Claudio Palmieri

Commercial Viability Of Battery 

Based Energy Storage Supported 

Solar Desalination 

Solar Desalination has always been a topic of 

great interest in the GCC, a region which lacks 

sufficient natural water resources and is largely 

dependent on desalinated water to provide for 

its citizens. Regional utilities and Government 

agencies have been testing various solar 

desalination concepts for some time and PV Solar 

powered Reverse Osmosis (RO) desalination 

has been found well suited for small to midscale 

applications at remote locations without 

grid connection. However, the dependence of 

PV Solar powered RO desalination plants on 

sunlight for operation drastically reduces water 

production and plant utilization factors which in 

turn negatively impacts Leveraged Cost of Water 

(LCoW) or water production cost. Battery based 

energy storage systems offer a technical solution 

which would allow solar desalination plant 

owners to improve utilization factors and increase 

water production of Solar Desalination plants. 

The question however is, can energy storage 

offer a commercially viable solution, improve 

the Utilization Factor for PV powered solar 

desalination plants and reduce its LCoW? 

The following is based on a feasibility study for a 

2,000 m 3 /day Solar Desalination Plant currently 

under development in a North African Country 

located on the Mediterranean coast. In this case 

a 2,000 m 3 /day Solar Desalination plant without 

energy storage can achieve an annual Utilization 

Factor of around 40% which would result in an 

average daily water production of 800 m 3 /day 

or around 292,000 m 3 /year. The study looked at 

ways to improve the Utilization Factor up to 75% 

(average of 1,500 m 3 /day or close to 550,000 m 3 / 

year) and its impacts LCoW and CAPEX. 

For a better understanding a number of key 

parameters have been defined as followed: 

Specific Energy Demand (kWh/m 3 ) – The 

Specific Energy Demand defines the required 

energy in kWh to desalinate 1 m 3 of water. The 

Specific Energy Demand is depending on the 

salinity of the feedwater and the energy efficiency 

of the desalination technology. 

Utilization Factor (%) – The Utilization Factor 

is defining how much of the (annual) design 

desalination capacity of 730,000 m 3 (or how many 

of the annually available full load operating hours) 

have been utilized. 

LCoW (US$) – The Leveraged Cost of Water 

formula used for this study considers the 

complete plant CAPEX, OPEX and the estimated 

water production over 20 years but no project 

development or finance cost. 

CAPEX (US$) – The CAPEX includes costs 

required to deliver a turnkey PV Solar powered 

RO Desalination Plant including Energy Storage 

and Solar System. 

OPEX (US$) – The OPEX includes all costs 

required to Operate and Maintain a PV Solar 

powered RO Desalination Plant including battery 

replacement. 


27

To secure realistic results a model has been 

created which considers all site and technology 

specific factors. All graphs contained in this 

study have been generated using site specific 

data from the 2,000 m 3 /day solar desalination 

project mentioned above. 

While drawing up the first design concept for 

the 2,000 m 3 /day solar desalination plant it 

became clear that additional PV Solar and 

Energy Storage System cost required to achieve 

higher Utilization Factors had a disproportionate 

impact on CAPEX. As can be seen in the two 

graphs below. This is mainly due to the increase 

in required Energy Storage Capacity. 

Note: The design study is based on standard 

Lithium Ion technology and the respective 

system efficiency, degradation and available 

state of charge data have been factored into 

the model. It is further worth noting that the PV 

design Capacity outlined in Graph 1 is only valid 

in relation with the site specific solar irradiation 

data. 

PV System Capacity 

kWp 

2000 

1800 

1600 

PV System Design Capacity 

vs. 

Since all investment projects are CAPEX 

sensitive it is worth to study the impact of 

the additional cost required to increase the 

Utilization Factor on the Leveraged Cost of Water 

(LCoW). As can be seen in Graph 3, an increase 

in Utilization Factor results in an increased 

LCoW or US$/m 3 of treated water for every case 

where the Specific Energy Demand exceeds 2 

kWh/m 3 . In this case (energy intense Seawater 

Desalination) and at today’s prices are for PV 

Solar and Energy Storage Systems it is more 

cost effective to double the RO installed capacity 

and to accept the low Utilization Factor even if 

the frequent starts and stops have a negative 

impact on membrane lifetime and OPEX. 

But it is also worth highlighting that it is possible 

to use Energy Storage systems to increase the 

Utilization Factor while maintaining or reducing 

the respective LCoW as can be seen in Graph 

3 (Specific Energy Demand of 1.5 kWh/m 3 and 

below) and Graph 4 (Specific Energy Demand of 

2 kWh/m 3 and below). The commercial viability 

of Battery based Energy Storage to improve 

the Utilization Factors of Solar Desalination 

Plants is mainly depending on Energy Storage 

System cost and the Specific Energy Demand 

(Desalination Plant Energy Efficiency). 

1400 

1200 

1000 

800 

600 

400 

LCoW 

US$/m 3 

1.6 

1.4 

Based on current PV and ES Market Prices 

200 

0 

40% 45% 50% 55% 60% 65%7 0% 75% 

5.5 Kwh/m 3 5 Kwh/m 3 4.5 Kwh/m 3 4 Kwh/m 3 3.5 Kwh/m 3 

3 Kwh/m 3 2.5 Kwh/m 3 2 Kwh/m 3 1.5 Kwh/m 3 1 Kwh/m 3 

1.2 

1 

0.8 

0.6 

0.4 

Graph 1 (Required PV Design Capacity) 

0.2 

0 

40% 45% 50%5 5% 60%6 5% 70% 75% 



ES Design Capacity 

MWh 

8 

ES Design Capacity 

vs. 

Graph 3: LCoW at current PV & ES Prices 

7 

6 

5 

4 

LCoW 

US$/m 3 

1.6 

1.4 

Based on PV & ES Prices forecasted for 2018 

3 

1.2 

2 

1 

1 

0.8 

0 

40% 45% 50% 55% 60% 65%7 0% 75% 



0.6 

0.4 

0.2 

Graph 2 (Required Energy Storage Design Capacity) show the 

required design capacity in relation with the annual Utilization 

Factor and Specific Energy Demand. 

0 

40% 45% 50%5 5% 60%6 5% 70% 75% 



Graph 4:LCoW at expected 2018 PV & ES Prices 


A quick and easy way to determine the 

commercial viability of using battery based 

Energy Storage to increase the Utilization 

Factor (water production) of an off-grid solar 

desalination plant is to put the nominalized 

CAPEX in relation with the resulting nominalized 

annual water production as described in Graph 

5. An improvement in LCoW can be achieved 

whenever nominalized annual water production 

is increasing faster than nominalized CAPEX. 

It is worth noting that the optimum LCoW which 

can be achieved in the GCC is around 70 to 

80% largely due to seasonal variations in solar 

irradiation. 

Nominalized 

3.000 

2.500 

Nominalized 

• It is commercially viable to use Battery based 

Energy Storage to increase the Utilization 

Factor of Solar Desalination Plants for low 

salinity e.g. brackish water desalination 

systems at today’s Energy Storage and PV 

market prices. 

• Current market price developments in the 

energy storage industry in combination with a 

highly energy efficient desalination technology 

is expected to make extended Utilization 

Factors for sea water desalination plants 

commercially viable by 2018. 

• Energy Efficiency has value! For the reference 

project at today’s market prices a reduction 

in Specific Energy Demand by 1 kWh/m3 has 

a CAPEX value 0.1 to 1 Million US$ depending 

on Utilization Factor and Feedwater Salinity. 

2.000 

1.500 

1.000 

0.500 

0.000 

40% 45% 50% 55% 60% 65%7 0% 75% 

CAPEX 1kWh/m3 Future CAPEX 5kWh/m3 Future CAPEX 1kWh/m3 Present CAPEX 5kWh/m3 Present 

Graph 5: CAPEX vs. Annual Water Production 

Conclusion: 

• Energy Storage System cost and Specific 

Energy Demand (Desalination Plant Efficiency) 

are the most important factors which 

determine the Commercial Viability of 

Battery based Energy Storage supported 

Solar Desalination. 

Example of highly energy efficient Trevi Systems 

FO-PROE (RO) desalination Skid 

Claudio Palmieri 

Claudio has worked in commissioning, engineering, project management, service, 

sales, project development and business development for power, renewable energy 

and Oil & Gas for companies like ABB, MTU and Kharafi National which included a 

position on the board of directors of a Solar PV EPC company registered at Masdar, 

Abu Dhabi. He has more than 20 years Middle East and Energy Industry experience. 


29

Solar Power to Ensure A Genset’s Start-up and 

Function at Sites With No Mains Available 

An Economic and Effective Solution in Case of no Mains available 

Although it may be difficult to imagine sites 

without any electric Mains network, the reality is 

that there are vast areas on our earth where there 

is no Electric Mains supply. 

BTS telecom towers installed in remote areas, 

villages in developing countries or that are 

isolated during periods of the year because of 

climatic conditions, mines and quarries, civil 

works and a lot of other situations are examples 

of where gensets are the only alternative to 

Mains, nowadays often in combination with 

renewable sources of energy as wind and solar 

power. In all these situations, gensets equipped 

with the adequate accessories and options are 

into an optimal solution as they may be remote 

controlled and managed even if they are situated 

thousands of kilometres away. 

What kind of accessories and equipment can 

guarantee proper function and security of a 

genset? 

A genset must be prepared to start and work, 

no matter what its application or use is. With 

this in mind, the battery, among other factors, 

has a very important role, as it is responsible for 

starting the engine of the generator set to make 

it work. The battery is also needed to power 

the genset controller and other equipment like 

remote control modems or gateways. 

What is responsible for keeping the gensets’ 

batteries sufficiently charged to ensure the 

correct start-up of the engine? This task is 

performed by the battery charger. 

So that these devices can work as intended, they 


must be connected to or powered byapower 

source, usually the mains. 

When this option is not available, there is a very 

economical and effective solution: The use of 

solar panels to power the chargers that will give 

the batteries enough charge to ensure that there 

are no start-up failures. 

Gensets that are placed on far away sites 

are often remote controlled and supervised 

to minimise the costs for operation and 

maintenance as well as ensure a good function 

when needed and also the security of the genset 

installation against theft, damage, fires etc. 

This makes it necessary to have the genset 

controller powered up all the time to handle the 

remote control orders as well as receive the 

information from extra sensors and senders 

about the status of the genset, fuel and other 

liquid levels etc. The extra equipment mounted 

will be powered from the battery so it has to 

be recharged continuously to ensure it’s ready 

to start the genset when a starting order is 

received. 

The Inmesol gensets are equipped with many 

inputs for different sensors and senders as well 

as output ports as a standard and there are a 

great number of different expansion modules 

that offer nearly limitless possibilities to remotely 

manage and monitor the genset itself and related 

equipment and installations. 

Examples of what can be done by remote 

control: 

Checking of all Genset parameters as; Status 

(Stopped, Running with load, Tripped for alarm 

etc.) Reading of values like; Voltage, Current, 

Frequency, kW, Oil pressure and Engine 

temperature. Levels like Fuel level, Engine oil 

level and Coolant level. Orders’ like Start, Stop, 

Load On and Off and Reset of alarms. Fuel 

supply systems with several tanks where the fuel 

consumption can be controlled and fuel levels 

in the tanks can be checked and fuel being 

pumped from one tank to another. 

Smoke and fire detectors, as well as detectors of 

movement and intrusions, can be connected. An 

access can be given to suppliers of fuel as well. 

All of this without having to be at the site save a 

lot of costs for maintenance and service. It also 

increases the efficiency of operation as faulty 

conditions can be detected before they have 

caused a major damage. Fuel and service can 

be supplied and done just in time and with a 

minimum of down time. 

Charger responsible for keeping batteries charged 

Batteries that start the genset’s engine 

Rental range of gensets with solar panels

New Melbourne-Based Ag-Tech Company, 

Applant, is Releasing The First Manual Vertical 

Farming Unit, aTree 

Vertical farming is a fairly new concept. Once 

limited to rocket scientists at NASA, vertical 

farming is a technique of growing plants in 

stacks of vertical planes in water, without soil. 

Urban farmers have been using vertical farming 

technologies for years now to grow food in 

any season. Thanks to its predictable delivery 

of water and nutrients, the plants can thrive in 

optimum conditions. Recently, the technique 

has become popular for home-growers with the 

availability of affordable light sources. Applant, 

a new Melbourne-based ag-tech company, is 

set to release the first manual vertical farming 

unit, aTree, to allow people to grow fruits and 

vegetables in the comfort of their own homes, 

workplace or any relatively confined areas. 

By 2050, the UN estimates the world population 

to be 9.7 billion. The world will need to produce at 

least 50-70% more food to feed the population. 

Majority of land that can be used for farming is 

already used for farming. As there is little space 

left to farm, focus needs to be put on higher 

yields. 

Applant aims to help rectify this problem by 

teaching communities to grow at home as vertical 

farming maximises space for those living in cities. 

Vertical farming allows for growing plants with 

higher yields and faster growth rates. 

aTree grows plants using aeroponics, a rootmisting 

system, to circulate water throughout the 

system. The roots of the crops are sprayed with 

a mist of nutrient-enriched water. The foot pump 

at the base of the unit needs only to be pumped 

1-2 minutes per day for the water to be pumped 

to the top, where it then falls down through the 

root chamber. The root chamber delivers the 

optimum amount of water to the plants and 


is then recycled; therefore, vertical farming 

technologies, such as aTree, use 95% less 

water than field farms. As opposed to traditional 

farming, aTree allows for significant water 

conservation, which eases strain on droughtthreatened 

regions. 

As long as aTree is exposed to light, it can be 

kept indoors or outdoors whether in a sunny 

area or with LED lights. The light-emitting diodes 

(LEDs) emit the precise spectra of light for the 

plants’ photosynthesis; e.g. with a larger blue 

or red component. The exact light wavelength 

is optimum for the plants’ growth, such as 

kale, pumpkins and lettuce. LED lights are also 

energy efficient - approximately 70% of energy 

expenditure would be saved if LED lights were to 

be used rather than filament bulbs. 

Aeroponic-growing also means no use of 

pesticides, fungicides or herbicides as there’s 

no soil. There is also no travel time required with 

transportation of produce. The nutrients are 

retained inside the plants and are not lost during 

packaging and transportation methods. The 

results are plants that can be picked and eaten 

straightaway - enriched with nutrients - with 

produce that is fresh and tastier. 

As more people are projected to be living in 

urbanised areas, vertical farming technologies 

like aTree is an effective and low-maintenance 

solution to grow fruits and vegetables. While 

there have been vertical farms on a large scale, 

aTree is the first to be placed at the convenience 

of confined spaces as a reliable, personal food 

supply. It’s a sustainable practice that can help 

solve the problem of feeding the population in 

the future. Applant is committed to educating 

new growers on growing at home. 

To help support, Applant is creating a Kickstarter 

campaign that will commence from July to 

August 2017 to launch aTree into the market. 

www.applant.com.au

GOING THE EXTRA MILE. 

Batteries included 

Hilti is a global leader in providing cutting-edge products, systems and services to professionals in 

the construction and energy sectors. From design to demolition, Hilti supports customers with expert 

technical advice, reliable products, prompt delivery and outstanding service. The product range covers 

drilling and demolition, direct fastening, diamond and anchoring systems, firestop and foam systems, 

installation, measuring and screw fastening systems, as well as cutting and sanding systems. As a 

result of this, Hilti’s portfolio helps construction professionals through every step of the construction 

journey. A direct-selling company, Hilti generates over 200,000 customer interactions per day, providing 

it with superior insight into company and market demands. Hilti Emirates LLC and Hilti Middle East FZE 

has been operating in the UAE since 1991. Today, Hilti Emirates has more than 200 employees, its own 

warehousing facility and a state-of-the-art repair center. Thomas Stumpp is Head of Market Region 

Middle East Turkey & Africa; while Mutaz Almaani is Head of Sub Region Gulf. 

For more information, please call Hilti Emirates at 800-Hilti (44584) or visit www.hilti.ae. 

Konstantin Fedin (previous PT&A Product 

Manager) discusses how he turned his passion 

for battery technology into a year long project. 

The project of operating a car using Hilti batteries 

started in July 2016, leading up to the grand reveal 

during the Marketing Wave in Dubai on April 

2017. Konstantin shares his motivation behind the 

project, the challenges he faced during his journey, 

and the burning passion he has for innovation. 

Such dedication proves that with patience; great 

results come to life. 

What was your biggest motive to take on this 

project? 

It was clear from the beginning that the 

implementation of the project will be challenging 

and will require a lot of extra time, and effort 

beyond the current work scope. However, my 

passion for innovations, battery technologies 

and cars all together drove me forward. Being 

responsible for cordless tools in SR Gulf and SR 

NEEA as a product manager, I wanted to show 

everyone that Hilti batteries are capable of moving 

something much bigger than just construction 

power tools. And I had no doubts that the finest 

quality of Hilti batteries together with some 

mechanical engineering intelligence will allow 

me to reach success at the end. I love battling 

challenges, and this idea just added more fuel to 

the fire. 

Konstantin Fedin started working on his project since July 

2016. His motivation, determination, and persistence came 

together to power an Electro car using Hilti batteries. 


How long did the project take to complete, 

and what did you enjoy most about it? 

I started this project in July of 2016. It was a 

long journey, full of unexpected surprises and 

hidden challenges, and it took me nearly 9 

months to finally run the first Hilti Electro car 

and introduce it to all of my colleagues during 

the Marketing wave which took place in March 

2017. Creating something totally new and 

completely out of the box - not construction 

related, using the latest technologies which 

Hilti owns is a big proud achievement and 

exceptional personal motivation. 

What was your biggest challenge during the 

process? 

The biggest challenge was that the whole 

project was full of new tasks and questions 

which I have never faced before. For instance, 

many times when I was facing design 

challenges, I was trying to get consultancy and 

advice from professionals in the automobile 

and electrical engineering industries. And I 

often got the answer: “It’s not possible, don’t 

even waste your time”; but after some weeks 

of internal brainstorming we were able to find 

a solution and we were able to overcome the 

next challenge. The conclusion is “Nothing is 

impossible”. 

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to 

my friend and ex-colleague Petro Zemlianskyi 

for his continuous support and great creative 

ideas during the project implementation. 

In brief, how would you describe our Hilti 

batteries – What sets us apart? 

There is no brand on the market that can match 

the level of the Hilti products and services, 

and our batteries are no exception. Hilti has a 

unique strength that differentiates us from our 

competitors, it is our direct relations with the 

customers. Therefore, Hilti creates the products 

based on customers’ feedback that makes them 

a perfect fit for the hardest construction site 

conditions. The features of the Hilti batteries are 

unique and relevant to the construction industry, 

including the shock absorption internal design 

of the housing that is made of fiberglass with 

extreme external impact resistance; fully sealed 

electronics for dust and moisture protection, 

double tapped contacts with independent cell 

power control managed by CPC technology 

and much more. This is what makes the Hilti 

batteries unique with unmatched performance 

on the market. This is what drives every 

employee in our company to further create the 

difference every day! And I am proud to be part 

of such a team! 


35

UAE Delegation Marks Successful Participation at World 

Scientific and Engineering Congress (WSEC 2017) 

A UAE delegation led by His Excellency Dr Thani 

bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change 

and Environment, marked a successful attendance 

at the World Scientific and Engineering Congress 

(WSEC 2017) from June19-20, 2017 convened 

at Astana EXPO 2017 Congress Center - Astana, 

Republic of Kazakhstan. 

The conference held under the theme “Energy of 

the Future: innovative scenarios and methods of 

their implementation”, aimed to bring together 

world pioneers in energy, to engage in a critical 

discussion on the future low carbon energy 

systems and the role of sustainable and efficient 

technologies in advancing the Sustainable 

Development Goals and climate change 

objectives. 

While delivering the UAE’s message at the 

conference, His Excellency Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al 

Zeyoudi said: “Renewable energy is at the heart 

of the UAE’s sustainable energy transformation 

strategy, with the sector witnessing remarkable 

growth and performance because of its innovative 

and cost-effective solutions that can meet the 

growing demand, especially in remote areas.” 

His Excellency added: “The World Scientific 

and Engineering Congress is a great platform to 

share our experiences and further expand our 

global efforts in fostering dialogue and enhancing 

cooperation in sustainable energy. The UAE is 

a key partner of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 

Astana EXPO 2017, and we are proud to host one 

of the largest pavilions at the exhibition.” 

He further said: “Renewable energy is at the center 

of our sustainable energy transition, and has been 

witnessing a remarkable growth outperforming 

conventional power, offering cost-effective 

solutions that can meet our growing energy needs 

and providing much-needed energy access to 

remote communities.” 

He explained: “The UAE has been a pioneer in 

the global renewable energy landscape over the 

last decade, through implementing large-scale 

domestic and international projects, hosting the 

International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) 

in our capital city - Abu Dhabi, and convening 

international dialogues such as the annual World 

Future Energy Summit.” 

He added: “Most recently, in May 2017, the UAE 

started construction of the largest independent 

solar power project in the world, in Abu Dhabi. 

The “Noor Abu Dhabi” with a capacity of 1,177 

MW. The plant not only sets an unprecedented 

world record with its size, but also shattered global 

energy prices with the lowest solar energy price of 

US cents 2.42 per KWh.” 

“Our National Energy Strategy 2050, sets a target 

of a 50% clean energy share in the total energy 

mix by 2050, of which 44% will come from 

renewables. The National Climate Change Plan 

2050 that was announced just last week, will firmly 

set the advancement of clean energy and energy 

efficiency as our priority. The UAE has dedicated 

billions of dirhams in public funds to clean energy 

research and projects, as we recognize that 

fostering innovation is key to develop an efficient 

sustainable energy system to facilitate economic 

and social development,” Al Zeyoudi explained. 

Concluding the speech, Dr Thani bin Ahmed 

Al Zaidi, reiterated the UAE’s commitment to 

maintaining its leadership position in spreading 

renewable energy sources and said: In 2020, 

the UAE will host EXPO 2020 Dubai under 

three themes “Opportunity”, “Sustainability” and 

“Mobility”, with the aim of connecting minds and 

creating the future. It will feature renewable energy 

prominently through its sustainability theme, and 

the site of the EXPO will be powered 50% from 

renewable energy sources including the iconic 

Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.


37


for Renewable Energy 

REN21 published its Renewables 2017 

Global Status Report (GSR), the most 

comprehensive annual overview of the state 

of renewable energy. 

Additions in installed renewable power 

capacity set new records in 2016, with 161 

gigawatts (GW) installed, increasing total 

global capacity by almost 9% over 2015, 

to nearly 2,017 GW. Solar PV accounted for 

around 47% of the capacity added, followed 

by wind power at 34% and hydropower at 

15.5%. 

Renewables are becoming the least cost 

option. Recent deals in Denmark, Egypt, 

India, Mexico, Peru and the United Arab 

Emirates saw renewable electricity being 

delivered at USD 0.05 per kilowatt-hour or 

less. This is well below equivalent costs for 

fossil fuel and nuclear generating capacity 

in each of these countries. Winners of 

two recent auctions for offshore wind in 

Germany have done so relying only on the 

wholesale price of power without the need 

for government support, demonstrating that 

renewables can be the least cost option. 

The inherent need for “baseload” is a myth. 

Integrating large shares of variable renewable 

generation can be done without fossil 

fuel and nuclear “baseload” with sufficient 

flexibility in the power system – through 

grid interconnections, sector coupling and 

enabling technologies such as ICT, storage 

systems electric vehicles and heat pumps. 

This sort of flexibility not only balances 

variable generation, it also optimizes the 

system and reduces generation costs overall 

It comes as no surprise, therefore that the 

number of countries successfully managing 

peaks approaching or exceeding 100% 

electricity generation from renewable sources 

are on the rise. In 2016, Denmark and 

Germany, for example, successfully managed 

peaks of renewables electricity of 140% and 

86.3%, respectively. 

Other positive trends include: 

Innovations and breakthroughs in storage 

technology will increasingly provide additional 

flexibility to the power system. In 2016, 

approximately 0.8 GW of new advanced 

energy storage capacity became operational, 

bringing the year-end total to an estimated 

6.4 GW. 

Markets for mini-grids and stand-alone 

systems are evolving rapidly and Pay-As- 

You-Go (PAYG) business models, supported 

by mobile technology, are exploding. In 

2012, investments in PAYG solar companies 

amounted to only USD 3 million; by 2016 that 

figure had risen to USD 223 million (up from 

USD 158 million in 2015). 

Arthouros Zervos, Chair of REN21, said 

“The world is adding more renewable power 

capacity each year than it adds in new 

capacity from all fossil fuels combined. 

One of the most important findings of 

this year’s GSR, is that holistic, systemic 

approaches are key and should become 

the rule rather than the exception. As the 

share of renewables grows we will need 

investment in infrastructure as well as a 

comprehensive set of tools: integrated and 

interconnected transmission and distribution 

networks, measures to balance supply and 

demand, sector coupling (for example the 

integration of power and transport networks); 

and deployment of a wide range of enabling 

technologies. 

But the energy transition is not happening 

fast enough to achieve the goals of the Paris 

Agreement.

Investments are down. Although global investment in new 

renewable power and fuel capacity was roughly double 

that in fossil fuels, investments in new renewable energy 

installations were down 23% compared to 2015. Among 

developing and emerging market countries, renewable 

energy investment fell 30%, to USD 116.6 billion, while 

that of developed countries fell 14% to USD 125 billion. 

Investment continues to be heavily focused on wind and 

solar PV, however all renewable energy technologies need 

to be deployed in order to keep global warming well below 

2C. 

Transport, heating and cooling sectors continue to lag 

behind the power sector. The deployment of renewable 

technologies in the heating and cooling sector remains a 

challenge in light of the unique and distributed nature of 

this market. Renewables-based decarbonisation of the 

transport sector is not yet being seriously considered, or 

seen as a priority. Despite a significant expansion in the 

sales of electric vehicles, primarily due to the declining 

cost of battery technology, much more needs to be done 

to ensure sufficient infrastructure is in place and that they 

are powered by renewable electricity. While the shipping 

and aviation sectors present the greatest challenges, 

government policies or commercial disruption have not 

sufficiently stimulated the development of solutions. 

Fossil fuel subsidies continue to impede progress. 

Globally, subsidies for fossil fuels and nuclear power 

continue to dramatically exceed those for renewable 

technologies. By the end of 2016 more than 50 countries 

had committed to phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, and 

some reforms have occurred, but not enough. In 2014 

the ratio of fossil fuel subsidies to renewable energy 

subsidies was 4:1. For every USD 1 spent on renewables, 

governments spent USD 4 perpetuating our dependence 

on fossil fuels. 

Christine Lins, Executive Secretary of REN21, explains: 

“The world is in a race against time. The single most 

important thing we could do to reduce CO2 emissions 

quickly and cost-effectively, is phase-out coal and speed 

up investments in energy efficiency and renewables. When 

China announced in January that it was cancelling more 

than 100 coal plants currently in development, they set an 

example for governments everywhere: change happens 

quickly when governments act – by establishing clear, 

long-term policy and financial signals and incentives.”

Photo courtesy of ABB 

ABB: Partners For A Clean Future 

Pioneering technology leader helps bring renewable power to the UAE 

The UAE has the world’s seventh largest 

reserves of oil and gas, and even so, is planning 

for a future beyond oil. The recently announced 

UAE 2050 strategy adopts 50% of the sources 

of power generation as green sources. This 

new energy strategy is set to save up to 

AED700 billion by 2050, according to Suhail bin 

Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei, Minister of 

Energy. 

The country is investing in some of the world’s 

largest solar power plants, and is at the forefront 

of innovation in technologies such as highefficiency 

solar-powered desalination. 

As the hosts of the International Renewable 

Energy Agency, the UAE is promoting best 

practice in policy, technology and financing of 

renewable energy around the world. 

A prominent and iconic project taking shape 

to fulfill the UAE’s renewable vision is the 

Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park in Dubai. 

The MBR Solar Park is the largest single-site 

solar park in the world based on the IPP model, 

and is instrumental to the Dubai Clean Energy 

Strategy 2050. The solar park’s production 

capacity will reach 5,000 MW by 2030 with 

investments totaling Dh50 billion ($13.6 billion). 

It will eventually save over 6.5 million tons of 

carbon emissions every year, supporting Dubai’s 

objectives to promote its sustainable goals. 

ABB has successfully energized a major 

substation that will help evacuate power from 

the Solar Park. The 400/132 kilovolt (kV) gasinsulated 

switchgear (GIS) substation has been 

built for Dubai Electricity & Water Authority 

(DEWA), to connect the second phase of the 



MBR Solar Park and integrate 200 megawatts 

(MW) of electricity to the transmission grid. The 

utility scale solar photovoltaic plant, which covers 

4.5 square kilometers, will produce enough 

electricity to serve more than 130,000 people. 

ABB shares DEWA’s vision to build a future that’s 

smart, clean and sustainable. The company 

spends about $1.5 billion annually on research 

and development to ensure that the technology 

and its expertise remain at the forefront. 

The increasing demand for power sources that 

emit less carbon and are more sustainable 

is driving utility-scale solar power generation 

growth at an unprecedented rate. However, the 

electrical grid was designed to deliver a planned 

and stable supply of power from centrally 

located power sources, via the transmission and 

distribution lines, to end users. 

ABB engineers plan and constantly recalibrate 

the grid to ensure that power is available where 

it is needed at the precise moment it is needed. 

Adding energy sources that are variable, 

intermittent and distributed throughout the 

transmission and distribution network requires 

significant additional control and precision to 

make sure demand and supply are aligned. 

At ABB’s Al Quoz facility, a 315 KW solar power 

plant has been installed. The energy produced at 

the plant supplies ABB offices with electricity and 

transfers surplus energy into DEWA’s network. 

This supports the Shams Dubai initiative, which 

was launched by DEWA and allows customers 

to install photovoltaic panels on their rooftops 

to generate electricity from solar power, and 

connect the systems to DEWA’s grid, creating, 

producing and using energy. 

“We are happy to hear that Dubai is installing 100 

electric vehicle charging stations across the city 

and also building a new DEWA headquarters, 

which promises to be an energy efficient 

prototype for smart buildings. 

We, at ABB, share your vision to build a future 

that’s smart, clean and sustainable. We are proud 

to partner and deliver to some of the largest 


41


solar projects across the world,” said Mostafa 

AlGuezeri, Managing Director, ABB, UAE and 

Gulf Countries. 

Supporting Dubai’s vision of building a worldclass 

smart city, the Sustainable City is 

becoming the first fully integrated community 

powered completely by solar energy. To help 

achieve this milestone, the development will 

rely on 400 ABB string inverters to harness the 

power of the sun for the residents. 

Conceived and built by Dubai-based Diamond 

Developers, the Sustainable City is the new 

home to some 2,000 people in an area of nearly 

500,000 square meters. When at full capacity, 

it will eventually generate 10 megawatt-peak 

(MWp) of power from solar panels on private and 

public buildings within the city. As well as solar 

powered homes, the Sustainable City features 

solar powered chargers for electric cars; a hotel 

powered 100 percent by solar energy and the 

Diamond Innovation Centre, the first educational 

institute to use net zero energy over its lifetime. 

Working closely with the developers to design 

the solar power system for the villas, ABB 

supplied a string inverter demonstration unit at 

the start of the project to prove it could cope 

with the high outdoor temperatures experienced 

in Dubai. 

Models supplied under the contract were the 

PVI 5000, PVI 12.5, TRIO 7.5 and TRIO 8.5. ABB 

also supplied inverters for a 1.4 megawatt (MW) 

parking lot solar roof project. This will charge 

the electric cars, which will only power vehicles 

allowed within the city limits. 

Iconic renewable projects 

ABB has been established in the Middle 

East since 1926 and has the honor of being 

associated with landmark projects like the Burj 

Khalifa, Yas Viceroy , Dubai Metro – to name a 

few; ABB has been playing a vital role in bringing 

clean power across the globe for over 100 years. 

Some recent projects for the company include 

powering the world’s largest floating solar 

photovoltaic test bed in Singapore. 

Land scarcity has severely limited Singapore’s 





adoption of solar power. Floating panels could 

be eleven percent more efficient than solar 

panels placed on precious land. Pioneering 

technology leader ABB is providing critical 

components on a landmark one megawatt 

floating solar photovoltaic test-bed. It 

measures 1 hectare or 1.5 football fields. The 

energy generated will be fed into the national 

energy grid, providing electricity for up to 250 

households. 

ABB has also recently commissioned and 

handed over the DolWin2 offshore wind 

transmission link to the Dutch-German 

transmission system operator TenneT. 

DolWin2 is the third offshore wind connection 

project that ABB has executed for TenneT 

in Germany’s North Sea, following BorWin1 

and DolWin1. The high voltage direct current 

(HVDC) link connects offshore wind farms to the 

mainland grid, and has the capacity to supply 

more than a million households with renewable 

energy. 

DolWin2 supports Germany’s “Energiewende” 

roadmap, which aims to generate more than 6.5 

gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power by 2020, 

and 15 GW by 2030. 

“As a pioneering technology leader in 

electrification products, robotics and motion, 

industrial automation and power grids, 

ABB today is writing the future of industrial 

digitalization and driving the Energy and Fourth 

Industrial Revolutions,” adds AlGuezeri. “We are 

proud of our projects across the globe and in the 

region and are committed to continue supporting 

utility providers like DEWA in bringing world 

class technology to smart cities like Dubai,” he 

said. 

ABB operates in more than 100 countries with 

about 132,000 employees. 


43

Will PAYG Be The 

Next Leapfrog That 

Disrupts Traditional 

Economies? 

Stefan Zelazny 

Chief Information Officer 

Mobisol 

When Mobile Money had its breakthrough in East Africa 

some five years ago it was seen as a regional answer to 

an existing deficit. A second-best solution to the lack of 

traditional banking. This view has changed dramatically. 

Mobile Banking is now clearly a disruptive technology 

that will change the classical consumer banking sector 

in countries that have a traditionally developed banking 

sector. New, customer-centric and “mobile first” banks 

become popular in Europe and the US. Alipay is going to 

be the most popular consumer payment system in China 

and on the brink to spread out into the world. Traditional 


anks have more and more problems competing 

with these challengers. 

The Mobile Money example shows that 

technologies and processes we have known 

for years and thought to be immutable can be 

disrupted within a very short period of time. The 

question that arises here is: what will be the 

next leapfrog technology that will be developed 

in Africa, succeeds there and then disrupts the 

traditional economies? 

Let’s have a look at Pay As You Go (PAYG). This 

technology allows the automated enabling and 

disabling of use cases depending on repayment 

status for financed products. The biggest 

representation of this technology is the off grid 

solar sector in East Africa. One million PAYG 

enabled solar products have been sold in 2016 

alone. The yearly growth rates are tremendous. 

The technology was introduced in East Africa 

around 2010 and has proven to be an effective 

method to keep down operational costs of 

collecting repayments from customers in rural 

and remote areas. Compared to the traditional 

brick and mortar Micro-Finance Institutions 

approach, the costs of financial operations went 

down dramatically. This allowed the distributors 

of PAYG enabled solar products to reach more 

and more people with low incomes. Right now, 

the technology is predicted to be the “silver 

bullet” for solar home system distribution 

(http://hystra.com/a2e). 

But what is PAYG really about? In a nutshell - 

it leapfrogs the missing trust that is normally 

created through the reliability of a legal system. 

In traditional economies, trust between business 

partners is artificially created through the 

governmental guarantee of a legal system. If your 

business counterpart does not pay its bill - you 

go to court. This works well and allows - even 

across borders - the modern economies to work 

at all. 


45

In rural sub-Saharan Africa, the legal system is 

not capable enough to provide the functionality 

described above. Business partners cannot 

trust each other on this base. This is the point 

where PAYG kicks in. Disabling and enabling the 

use of a financed consumer good increases the 

likeliness of repayment enormously. 

It allows business by technology in areas 

where legal enforcement is hardly possible. 

Introducing PAYG enables sub-Saharan African 

customers to participate in the worldwide flow 

of capital - it includes them financially. This is 

achieved without implementing a working legal 

enforcement regime or good governance rules. 

But if we don’t need a very expansive legal 

enforcement regime - will that turn out as a 

significant macro-economic competitive edge 

of the developing countries compared to the 

traditional economies? 

Why should PAYG only work in areas where 

the legal system is lacking capacity? It can be 

a competitive advantage even in traditional 

economies. Following the legal path can be very 

time consuming, risky and expensive. There is 

an old German saying “Vor Gericht und auf hoher 

See sind wir in Gottes Hand” - “at court and at 

high seas we are in god’s hands”. 

Will we see the application of PAYG in traditional 

economies when selling high profile goods on 

loan as response to that competitive edge? Will 

your car stop working if you stop paying your 

monthly leasing fees? Will your smart home lock 

its door when you are late on your mortgage? 

Where is the difference to your utility that stops 

delivering electricity or gas if you don’t pay the 

bills before taking legal actions? 

PAYG technology is designed to work 

automatically and on very low operating costs 

- a tremendous advantage to traditional legal 

actions. It can be applied to all goods that need 

electronics to work - it will become harder and 

harder to find goods that don’t need electronics 

to work properly. With the further spread of 

IoT, we will have the infrastructure ready that 

is needed for sophisticated PAYG technology. 

Companies that are forerunners in this sector can 

become market leaders not only in Africa but in 

traditional economies as well. 

We have been looking at infrastructural and 

social deficits too long as a problem but 

not as a chance to do things more efficient, 

more sustainable and just better than we 

have been used to. Mobile Money, Solar off 

grid electrification and PAYG - I believe these 

developments will change the world as we know 

it now because they are better solutions than 

what the traditional economies have to offer and I 

am more than curious what comes next. 

As Chief Information Officer, Stefan is responsible for Mobisol’s general Software and IT Agenda. 

He is heading Mobisol’s disruptive development strategy, leading the company’s mission towards 

providing reliable solar energy to millions of people in developing and emerging markets. Being 

a trained lawyer and having set up various IT startups before joining the Berlin-based Mobisol, 

Stefan combines management skills with creativity and entrepreneurial thinking. Mobisol has been 

active in the decentralized solar sector since 2012 and has supplied over 80,000 households and 

small businesses with high-quality solar components and DC appliances to date.

Connecting The Dots: 

For A Sustainable Emirate 

Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence is a 

disruptive market enabler of green economy in 

the Middle East, over the past decade we have 

successfully established ourselves as the only 

environmental economics & finance consultant 

in the region with experience in ambitious 

resource efficiency projects and promoter of a 

monetizable carbon assets. We play the role of 

enabler for the private sector by public sector 

norms, legislations, strategies and approaches. 

So, what we do predominantly, is translate a 

message of public engagement into business 

opportunities & practices. 

Established as a Private Joint Stock Company 

(PJSC) shared between Dubai Electricity and 

Water Authority (DEWA), Emirates National Oil 

Company (ENOC), Emirates Central Cooling 

Systems Corporation (EMPOWER)and Dubal, 

we work in partnership with UNDP to harness 

the green growth potential of Dubai and UAE. 

We are a team of 23 full-time employees working 

towards achieving green goals set by Dubai, and 

at the same time providing advisory on resource 

efficiency, sustainability, and renewable energy 

adoption. All the while spreading awareness 

with our knowledge publications and capacity 

building programmes for a sustainable tomorrow. 

For us, sustainability is resource efficiency, 

and our efforts focus on bridging the gap 

and bringing together private players, the 

government and the general public to make 

Dubai the most sustainable city. To realise this, 

we work with a number of entities in building 

projects and knowledge repositories, as well as 

spread awareness, to mitigate climate change 

in the UAE. We believe that change from within 

public and private organisations can support 

sustainable development throughout the 

Emirate of Dubai and the UAE. We do this by 

benchmarking areas of the carbon value chain 


that can be optimized through market-based 

mechanisms—to promote the involvement of 

business in the low-carbon economy. 

We develop, implement and manage GHG 

emission reduction projects with a particular 

focus on highly innovative Programmes of 

Activities (PoAs) and deliver the generated carbon 

credits to our clients with reduction obligations in 

the most reliable way. Our consultancy portfolio 

expands to renewable energy, green economy 

and carbon abatement. We have successfully 

registered a number of Clean Development 

Mechanism (CDM) projects that generate credits, 

which comply with the strict requirements of 

international market standards. Thus, our projects 

not only help to mitigate climate change, but also 

support sustainable development, and promote 

the transfer of innovative green technologies that 

support organisations in increasing their efficiency 

and offsetting carbon emissions. 

Sustainability is a holistic concept, and to achieve 

this, it is imperative that the general population 

has a green frame of mind. So, we also strive 

to put the right message through to general 

public with our peacemakers. We have recently 

launched a first of its kind social experiment, 

which focus on understanding lifestyle habits of 

the general public. The benchmark experiment 

will compare and evaluate consumption patterns, 

resource efficiency and waste management. The 

social experiment requires consumers to provide 

data on domestic waste one creates, as well as 

on transportation, electricity and water. The ability 

to map individual behavioural patterns is key 

towards boosting efficient use of resources, and 

help in reducing carbon footprint. On the other 

hand, this data-centric approach is also expected 

to help in building a foundation for government 

policies, and drive change in the way people 

utilise resources in their day-to-day life. 

We are always excited about new attractive 

projects in the fields of renewable energy 

and energy efficiency that bring changes on 

a grassroots level to build environmentally 

conscious organisations and individuals. Our 

team is a group of passionate individuals trying 

to practice what we preach when it comes to 

sustainable living. We have our weekly dose of 

creativity every Sunday when we hold think-tank

meetings with the team. Here we do not just 

discuss the status of our projects, but address 

strategic decisions required in specific projects 

or activities where team members may require 

support. Each one of us has a goal to achieve 

and we support each other and our partners 

meet them by providing tailor-made solutions 

that help in fulfilling emission reduction targets. 

Our greatest asset is making our partners 

succeed with their project, activities and 

strategies. This success comes from the fact 

that we are the only regional think tank that 

focuses on environmental economics. We 

challenge the conventional to bring in best 

practices, with the goal of creating a sustainable 

and safer world for generations to come. And 

our way of doing this is by continuing the 

‘Pursuit of Excellence’. 

Resource Efficiency is the most important 

part of sustainable practices, hence we 

focus on emission reduction projects (ERPs), 

which improves the operational efficiency to 

enhance profitability. And we have successfully 

conducted ERPs for DEWA, Emirates Global 

Aluminium (EGA), Emirates Transport, Du, and 

Dubai Police, to name a few, to help them 

achieve resource efficiency. At Dubai Carbon, 

we keep challenging best practices and enable 

the GCC and the MENA region to replicate and 

scale success stories. 

One of our successful projects that has 

brought huge returns is the Green Economy 

Framework for RTA, which includes investment 

grade analysis, renewable projects with zero 

investment from the client, and this adds a 

factor of up to 20% on their operating expense. 

We have also successfully conducted National 

Inventory Systems (NIS) for a number of 

countries in the GCC, including UAE, Oman, 

Bahrain Kuwait and Iraq. Carbon emissions 

are the lowest common denominator for 

all resources - energy, water, supplies, raw 

materials, time process, travel - and can 

measure and benchmark resource efficiency at 

every level. We are here to help organisations 

understand how to evaluate and mitigate this. 


We cater to a very niche market and intend 

to focus on augmenting green economy in 

Dubai. To support Dubai’s transition to a 

sustainable and green city, we bring together 

organisations through projects and partnerships 

that are anchored on sustainable practices, 

which improve efficiency and profitability for 

all parties involved. We are the nexus between 

environment and economy, and aim to keep 

an active compendium of successful initiatives 

and knowledge sharing, in general, for the UAE 

community. Together with partners, we drive 

financial instruments to facilitate green economy 

penetration. 

Moreover, the region is a fantastic playing field of 

sustainability because a number of major players 

are making sustainability a part of their scope 

of operations, and renewable energy is taking 

the centre stage as the major source of energy. 

In the process, creating demands innovation in 

the green technology sphere. Dubai, as usual, 

is leading in terms of facilitating green economy 

sector, with the announcement of Dubai Green 

Fund, which will support individuals and 

organisations to secure low-interest loans for 

green projects. 

All in all, sustainable green technologies have a 

bright future in the GCC, with strong business 

interests and sufficient resources to invest in 

R&D. There is growing demand for engineering 

talents from various fields in the environmental 

sector, take for example, we have 9 engineers 

from 6 different backgrounds. 

Enhanced financial support and skill 

development are imperative for the growth of 

green economy. 

Advice for Young Engineers 

I would advise the Generation Y engineers to 

create their own success, by finding a niche. 

It’s not so difficult to achieve success once you 

have found that one thing you are passionate 

about, so focus on something specific. I 

remember giving advice to a young engineer 

to focus on IPP legal frameworks around 10 

years ago. Now he is one of the few specialised 

engineers in the area in the region. 


51

Ivano Iannelli 

CEO 

Dubai Carbon 

Ivano is currently managing Dubai Carbon 

Centre of Excellence, the Dubai-based 

environmental economics think-tank in 

partnership with United Nations and World 

Bank. He has 20 years of experience in 

development economics of which half in 

the region. He currently oversees the UAE’s 

greenhouse gases inventory and strategies for 

numerous government entities and industries, 

including private sector companies. 

Ivano has special expertise in: 

• CO2abatement strategies, management 

processes, monitoring and reporting 

• Development economics modelling, at 

micro and macro level 

• Environmental Finance, investment, funds, 

and funding mechanism 

• UAE specific knowledge of energy and CO2 

He holds an MBA from Coventry (UK), a 

Master’s degree in Development Economics 

from University of Western Cape (South 

Africa) and more recently a disruptive 

innovation specialization from Harvard 

business school. 

He has been a part of this industry for the past 

20 years. 

OFFICE TRIVIA 

We have secret 

societies of Zumba, 

table tennis, and FIFA

Sterling and Wilson Scales New Heights; Gets 

Awarded the World’s Largest Solar PV Plant 

Sterling and Wilson, one of the dominant global 

forces in the solar- PV space, has bagged Turnkey 

Engineering Procurement and Construction along 

with Operation & Maintenance contract for the 

world’s largest single location solar PV plant in 

Sweihan, Emirates of Abu Dhabi. The project will 

deliver a capacity of 1177 MWp, easily surpassing 

the current largest 850 MWp single location plant 

in China. 

With construction already underway, the 

prodigious plant, which is spread over a desert 

area of 7.8 sq. km, is scheduled to be fully 

integrated with the grid in a record timeline of just 

23 months. To top it all, the project was awarded 

at the lowest ever recorded bid in the history of PV 

solar. 

The plant is jointly developed by Marubeni, a 

Japanese integrated trading and investment 

giant, along with Jinko, a global leader in 

the solar industry, and Abu Dhabi Water and 

Electricity Authority (ADWEA). The consortium 

has successfully bid a tariff of USD 2.42 cents per 

kilowatt hour, marking the lowest cost ever for 

solar power. This is a positive demonstration of 

the promising future of clean energy, reducing the 

dominance of fossil-fuel- backed power plants. 

The prestigious project will play a major role in 

the Emirates of Abu Dhabi achieving its aim of 

sustainability and energy diversification, through 

the use of clean energy/low carbon growth in 

accordance with the world’s vision of long-term 

environmental stewardship. 

The plant, once commissioned, would save around 

7 million tonnes of carbon emissions every year, a 

number that would be a national landmark. To put 

it in perspective, 1177 MWp can power around 

1,95,000 homes, thus contributing to the welfare of 

the current as well as the future generations of the 

people of the UAE. 

“We are fully geared and very excited to be a part 

of this important milestone in the global solar 

market”, said Bikesh Ogra, President – Renewable 

Energy, Sterling and Wilson. 

Owing to the favorable government policies, India 

is now the 3rd largest market for solar in the world, 

allowing Sterling and Wilson the opportunity to 

become the leading solar EPC in the country. The 

company has created a global brand and has now 

grown to be the world’s largest solar EPC player 

outside USA and China. 

Laying emphasis on the need to be competitive, 

he further added, “The strongest contributor to 

this tariff is the capital expense driven by lower 

equipment cost and a highly efficient system 

design. Our unique design offerings and stateof-the-art 

robotics optimizes the yield and 

performance of the plant.” 

Sterling and Wilson also has to its credit >1400 

MW of best performing solar power plants in 

various geographies with a powerhouse of more 

than 3000 qualified engineers, project managers 

and designers. 

As the acceleration of growth in the energy 

sector has increased worldwide, Sterling and 

Wilson has ventured into the wind and energy 

storage sectors, covering the entire canvas in the 

renewable sector. Backed by its robust resources 

in project management, project implementation 

and project engineering, with projects completed 

in the Philippines and South Africa, and a number 

of projects in Zambia, Niger and Morocco under 

construction, the company is fully geared to deliver 

more than 3000 MW every year.

The Technology Behind the 

World’s Largest Floating 

Photovoltaic Power Plant 

Land scarcity has severely limited 

Singapore’s adoption of solar power. 

Floating solar panels may be a viable 

alternative for the city-state surrounded 

by water. Floating panels could be eleven 

percent more efficient than solar panels 

placed on precious land. Pioneering 

technology leader ABB is providing critical 

components on a landmark one megawatt 

floating solar photovoltaic test-bed. It 

measures 1 hectare or 1.5 football fields. 

The energy generated will be fed into the 

national energy grid, providing electricity 

for up to 250 households. 

“We are proud to support this 

important project in Singapore with our 

technological expertise and domain 

knowledge,” said Tarak Mehta, president 

of ABB’s Electrification Products division. 

“This project is perfectly aligned with our 

Next Level strategy around the energy 

revolution and is an important step in 

collaborating with partners to bring more 

renewables into the future energy mix.” 

Located in the Tengeh Reservoir in 

west Singapore, the installation features 

multiple solar solutions from providers 

to study the performance and costeffectiveness 

of floating solar platforms. 

ABB supplied 100 kW of market-leading 

TRIO-50 solar inverters to Phoenix Solar, 

one of several system integrators for the 

project. These essential components 

convert the direct current produced in 

solar panels into alternating current for 

use in electrical grids. Additionally, ABB 

low-voltage molded case and miniature 

circuit breakers protect the electrical 

circuits on the water. 

n Singapore – a country with an area of 

only 719 square km and a population of 

5.6 million – high average annual solar 

irradiation of about 1,500 kWh/m2 makes 

solar an attractive source of renewable 

energy. Floating solar platforms will be 

naturally cooled by the surrounding water, 

which increases the efficiency of the 

energy yields significantly. A study has 

found that the natural cooling effect of the 

water beneath the solar cells makes them 

up to 11 percent more efficient than solar 

panels placed on land. In a synergistic 

effect, the floating platform helps reduce 

evaporation of the valuable water.

Thermal Storage: The Greenest Way To Boost PV Self-Consumption 

The energy used for heating hot water for sanitary 

purpose (or other purposes) is a rather relevant item 

of expense in families, hotels, communities and 

factories, but it can be easily decreased thanks to 

solar panels and thermal storage. 

Many houses are already equipped with electric 

boilers and hot water storage tanks, thus they can 

be upgraded thanks to solar PV plants and to new 

technologies to exploit the potential of renewable 

energies. 

This is an interesting opportunity indeed: the 

use of clean energy for activating an immersion 

heater using self-consumption only, offers clear 

advantages to reduce the energy bills and the 

environmental impact. 

One of the many benefits of heating water with an 

immersion tank is that power consumptions can be 

monitored in real time, thus allowing to modulate 

the power absorbed by a load. This way, it is 

possible to use only the surplus energy produced 

by solar PV systems, without drawing any energy 

from the grid. 

4-noks Power Reducer control unit – designed 

and manufactured in Italy by Astrel Group – was 

specifically created to use at its best the immersion 

heater: Power Reducer exploits homegrown energy 

adjusting automatically and in real time the power 

diverted to the water heater depending on the 

surplus energy available, even few hundred watts. 

The result? Self-consumption capacity can be 

dramatically increased, therefore immersion heaters 

can be used as real thermal batteries. 

It goes without saying this has a great impact on 

energy usage and environmental footprint. For 

those who have (or will soon have) a solar PV plant, 

thermal storage may be one of the most convenient 

solutions to cut down energy bills. 

For instance: if the hot water requirement per 

person is 60 litres/day, for a family of 4 people 

the daily energy to heat water is around 9-12kWh. 

Using an immersion tank up to 3kW, this results in 

3/4 hours of running at full power. 

In case of domestic solar PV systems with a peak 

power between 3kWp and 6kWp, it is likely that 

such power is not always available to switch the 

boiler’s resistance on or for storing full power, 

making it necessary to draw energy from the grid. 

In case the PV plant already has the 4-noks 

Elios4you system installed, the Power Reducer can 

be easily combined with the monitoring device, 

thus it can be directly managed from the App 

(Android/iOS). 

Thanks to the free App “Elios4you”, super easy 

to use even for non-experts, the activation of the 

Power Reducer can be managed and customized 

depending on the user’s needs. 

The immersion heater activation can be easily 

programmed via App with scheduled operating 

hours and thresholds, with real time view of the 

energy diverted to the electric boiler. If necessary, 

it is also possible to force the immersion tank to 

operate at full power, with a simple tap on your 

smartphone. 

For those who are not interested in monitoring the 

whole solar PV plant but would just like to maximize 

the use of surplus energy producing hot water, 

Power Reducer is also available in its stand-alone 

version. With a built-in energy meter, this simple 

installation will deliver immediate savings. 

Solar energy and technology are therefore the 

best allies for a more eco-sustainable lifestyle: 

with 4-noks Power Reducer the user can exploit 

at its best the clean energy produced by the solar 

PV system, using in an easy and efficient way the 

greenest storage system now available, hot water. 


55

Age-Old Technology Is Making Its Way 

Back Thanks To Renewables 

DC power lines are stepping back into the spotlight. 

For the longest time, AC power has proven to 

be a more flexible option instead of the use of 

DC power lines. Though back in the old days, 

people were convinced otherwise. This was 

the hot topic during the War of Currents, where 

Edison and Tesla duked it out to prove which 

power transmission system was the best. 

During the war, Edison convinced the people 

that DC was the solution and that AC was 

dangerous. Tesla, on the other hand, showed 

people the capabilities of AC powering larger 

areas. The battle lasted for a few years, with a 

few underhanded tactics here and there. One of 

the most notable acts was Edison electrocuting 

random stray animals. This was to keep the 

people in fear of AC power, keeping his pockets 

lined with his DC patents. 

It wasn’t till 1893 where Chicago World’s Fair 

decided that AC was the better option. This 

was due to the fact that AC power was cheaper 

to operate as compared to DC power. It was 

the turning point of the war and it’s what truly 

decided that AC was the better option. That 

was until the 1970s, where DC power started to 

shine again. 

DC power was able to outclass AC power in 

terms of long-distance power transmission. 

From the 1-mile radius it used to have, it was 

now able to reach further than 300-500 miles. 

While AC also had the capabilities to do so, 

DC provided it with no power loss. Today, due 

to the nature of wind farms being isolated from 

the community, DC is making a comeback once 

more. 

Renewable energy almost always has to come 

from a remote location. Be it solar, wind, or 

hydroelectric, the best places to gather power 

was always at a far away place. Wind farms 

need to be far from urban and rural areas to 

have the highest efficiency. Hydroelectric farms, 

well, they need to be close to water. Since these 

power sources are far from where the energy 

needs to be, DC proves to be the solution. 

There won’t be any problems with this as well. 

Renewable energy is a natural source of DC 

power. Another good thing to note is that there’s 

quite a number of devices inside a typical 

household that runs on internal DC power. 

Flatscreen TVs, microwaves, fans, these all have 

internal DC power sources. And in the next 20 

years, up to 50% of your household electronics 

may be DC powered. This helps the renewables 

industry move forward, that’s why a lot of 

energy companies are investing in it. This ageold 

technology that was once discarded is now 

coming back with a better purpose.

Renewable Green Leaders Magazine: Promoting a Sustainable Future for Generations to Come by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA)

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