The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has signed contracts for six mega projects worth Dh12 billion in the areas of power generation and water desalination.
Some of the projects, signed with leading national and international companies, will be finished in 2009, while the rest will be completed by 2010.
"The growing interest in alternative energy sources is a big step forward that should be supported by the introduction of relevant legislations," said Dr Abdullah Al Amiri, Chairman of the Emirates Energy Award Committee, an offshoot of the Dubai Quality Group.
"We should take all necessary measures to protect the environment and forestall further deterioration of the earth resulting from the detrimental effects of global warming," he said.
Dr Al Amiri mentioned that Dubai is making a concerted effort to do just this, through implementing initiatives such as waste recycling projects, which are aimed at turning waste into usable energy resources.
"The emirate is moving in the right direction to secure the necessary clean energy resources. There is a genuine tendency in Dubai to ensure hygienic conditions in the society that conform to normal energy consumption patterns and strike a balance between ecological integrity and economic development requirements," he said.
A statistical study recently released by the Federal Electricity and Water Authority (Fewa) has revealed 588.72 million gallons of water and 756.24 gigawatts of power were consumed last year.
A previous study highlighted the sharp rise in the number of electricity consumers last year, put at 331,518, compared to 279,246 in 2006.
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