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29 March 2024

18th WETEX and 1st Dubai solar show end on a high note

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By Staff

The 18th Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX) and the 1st Dubai Solar Show have successfully concluded today. HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Founder and Chairman of WETEX said that both have reinforced their positions on the international map of specialised energy-related exhibitions.

“WETEX 2016 has achieved its objective on all three days by enhancing sustainability not only in the UAE but also in the region. Diversifying energy sources have taken a big chunk of discussions between exhibitors and visitors at a time when renewable energy and green development is on the agenda of so many countries in the world, including the UAE,” Al Tayer said.

WETEX and Dubai Solar Show reflected the UAE’s and Dubai’s interest in renewable energy and sustainability. They also show Dubai’s leading position in offering an opportunity to thousands of companies to promote their activities and services in WETEX 2016.

The companies succeeded in promoting their technologies in water, environment and energy to the entire world through the show, not to mention interacting closely with trade visitors.

Titanium, strategic, platinum and gold sponsors expressed their satisfaction on their participation at this year’s WETEX. The show was also visited by government officials, delegates and experts in energy, environment, water, electricity and sustainability.
 
The inaugural Dubai Solar Show has covered 13,000 square metres and attracted exhibitors from around the world. Dubai Solar Show proved to be a key platform for the public and private sectors to make deals, build partnerships, review the latest solar-energy technologies, learn about current and future projects in the region and market needs, and explore opportunities to take part in solar-energy projects and programmes.

The inaugural Dubai Solar Show was a successful initiative as part of the global trend to develop solar technologies and increase reliance on it to generate electricity. The show has allocated big spaces for companies to present their technologies and solutions that support solar and renewable energy.

The first three days of Green Week, included leading environmental events, notably WETEX, World Green Energy Summit and Dubai Solar Show, generated direct discussions among key stakeholders at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Green Week activities included a number of community outreach campaigns that have attracted educational institutions where their students presented projects that have reflected great awareness on sustainability and the rationalisation of energy and water consumption and offered some innovative solutions and contributions.

“WETEX and Dubai Solar Show have contributed to shift the attention of the world towards the progress of Dubai in green economy and green development. One of the goals of WETEX is to educate DEWA’s customers and encourage them to contribute to the process of transition towards a green environment,” Al Tayer said.

"Year after year, WETEX succeeds in disseminating a culture of conservation and the importance of the use of green products. Green Week is a big leap in DEWA’s community outreach campaigns as it raises awareness on green practices. It is a world-class event going all the way in allowing us to achieve our vision of becoming a sustainable innovative world-class utility.”

Al Tayer praised the growing stature of WETEX and Dubai Solar Show and the corresponding huge interest of trade visitors. He attributed this to the active involvement of government institutions and the private sector in both shows.

A series of workshops and seminars raised awareness about saving water and electricity and the importance of implementing green practices were organised during WETEX where DEWA worked on promoting green concepts during these workshops and seminars.

ENOC, a key sponsor of WETEX, has highlighted its initiatives in sustainable development through advanced technology and products. ENOC displayed a broad range of activities designed to support environmental sustainability and enhance the efficiency of energy consumption.

“WETEX has formed a strategic platform to interact with stakeholders and display the latest technologies in water, energy and environment. We have highlighted a wide group of advanced solutions that help to protect the environment for generations to come at the show,” said Saif Humaid Al Falasi, CEO of ENOC.

On the last day of the show, Global Head of Energy Utilities at Ericsson, that sponsors WETEX 2016, Marco Li Vigni, discussed how the increased focus on emission reductions and the new business models and operational efficiency are changing the nature of the utilities business and creating new challenges and opportunities. Also, 14 German companies displayed through the German national pavilion their latest conventional and renewable energy solutions as well as the most advanced water technologies.

Manfred Waidhas, Head of Technology Innovation for Hydrogen Solutions at Siemens AG presented the topic of energy storage in the megawatt age. Waidhas explained why hydrogen is an ideal solution as a multi-functional energy carrier and storage concept. In his presentation, he demonstrated how Siemens in Germany has developed a decentralised hydrogen energy storage plant and how hydrogen can enable large-scale energy storage.

Dubai Green Zone has received an overwhelming response at WETEX. This project encourages established and start-up companies to set up their presence in the Emirate and provide them with an ideal business environment to develop and market their green sustainable technologies. Dubai Green Zone comes under the infrastructure pillar of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, that aims to transform Dubai into an global hub for clean renewable energy and green economy. WETEX has played an instrumental role in familiarising global organisations and international research bodies with the concept of the Green Zone to discuss setting up regional headquarters within the zone.

Also, Innovation Hall has attracted a wide range of innovators and emerging companies that showed the latest creations from major international companies that are renowned for their innovative approach.

“Our focus at WETEX was on smart Internet of Things, the convergence between Informational Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) in our solutions.” said Bruno Dercle, VP of Commercial Energy at Schneider Electric.

Innovation Hall has succeeded in its primary objective of motivating inventors from the UAE and the world to present their innovations through smart stands to boost practical and engineering research and develop scientific and innovative solutions in water, environment and sustainability. The activities of the hall included workshops that discussed challenges facing the energy sector and suggested solutions. Leading global experts have participated at the Innovation Hall as they discussed innovation among various industries covered by WETEX. The hall also showed the latest updates on energy, water, and environment and highlighted creative insights with international moderators and local media covering environment and sustainability.

“We believe that technology is not only an enabler of greater efficiency and solves the problem of utilities and sustainability, but actually drives how to change the industry completely. The utilities need to develop a broader eco system, working with institutions, working with other systems. We realise that in this part of the world the transformation is happening much faster than expected. The solar plants production costs are going down, which means we're reaching a better match than before. We believe that the Internet of Things is the key to developing sustainability in the region,” said Li Vigni of Ericsson.

Adnan Merhaba, Global Head of the Renewable Energy Competence Centre of Arthur D Little shared his thoughts on Renewable & Storage of Energy while Najmuddin A. Warsi, General Manager of Smart Grids presented on smart metering of electricity, water and gas to achieve the smart grid concept.

Dubai Police promoted the revival of coral and showed their marine conservation projects.
“Through our marine environment project, we planted coral in one of the islands in Dubai. Our aim here is to support Dubai for sustainability in 2021. We hope to attend WETEX 2017 next year,” said Dr. Tamim Alhaj, Director of Environment, Health and Safety at Dubai Police.

Ahmed Saeed Albedwawi, Head of the Building Studies Unit at Dubai Municipality, said Dubai Municipality has used the exhibition to show to the public for the first time its Green Building Rating System called Al Safat, an initiative designed to make buildings better for people and the environment by reducing their water and energy use. “The initiative supports Dubai Municipality's strategic vision of developing Dubai as a pioneering smart and sustainable global city. It also supports the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy’s goal to reduce overall the energy demand by 30% by 2030,” added Albedwawi.

Dubai Municipality's stand at WETEX has attracted local, regional, and international visitors to the show. Dubai Municipality has also shown one of its major projects, Safari Dubai, which is an environmentally-friendly landmark development. It adopts many sustainability practices like generating 1MW of solar power.

“Dubai Municipality is keen to apply sustainability in all fields even in entertainment," said Albedwawi. Other projects shown by DM included its hot regions scanning and air quality monitoring.

“Dubai Investments is committed to the cause of sustainability, and as part of this, the company has launched a number of energy-efficient technologies and products over the years. The coloured solar panels from Emirates Insolaire promote the use of renewable energy that aims to make Dubai a global centre of clean energy and green economy,” said Khalid Bin Kalban, Managing Director and CEO of Dubai Investments.

Colored solar panels from CROMATIX were some of the latest technologies being featured at the 1st Dubai Solar Show. This technology generated huge interest at the show, especially as it has been successful installed in several cities around the world.

Al Tayer thanked all 60 sponsors for supporting WETEX and their response to initiatives launched by DEWA.