The 20th edition of Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (Wetex 2018) opened in Dubai along with the third edition of Dubai Solar Show featuring more than 2,100 exhibitors from 53 countries at these exhibitions.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance and President of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), inaugurated the events held in conjunction with the fifth World Green Economy Summit.

He was accompanied by Matar Humaid Al Tayer, the chairman of Dewa, which is organising the exhibition under the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Both events will be held until October 25 over a 78,413-sq-m area at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre in conjunction with the fifth World Green Economy Summit. The theme is 'At the forefront of sustainability,’ and under the umbrella of the 5th Green Week.

Following the inauguration, Sheikh Hamdan toured the exhibition along with other officials where they got a  briefing on various innovations, solutions and new products in key sectors such as energy and water desalination, green technologies, clean and renewable energy, environmental sustainability, and oil and gas.

He also visited the Dewa stand, which has a scale model of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model.

The solar park’s capacity is expected to reach 5,000 MW by 2030, with investments of up to Dh50 billion ($13.6 billion). Upon completion, the solar park will help reduce over 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

He was also briefed on the model of the pumped storage hydroelectric power station, the first of its kind in the Arabian Gulf that uses water stored in the Hatta Dam to generate up to 250 MW, the 400-MW pumped hydro storage island in the Arabian Gulf, with 2,500 MWh of storage capacity and a model of the region's first solar-driven hydrogen electrolysis facility at Dewa, in co-operation with Siemens, Dewa’s outdoor testing facilities at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai.

Dewa stand also displays a smart grid station (SGS) model, a modular concept that connects smart grids to smart buildings. The utility is exploring the concept of SGSs, which connect smart buildings to each other to share information, to help improve energy and water efficiency and make optimal use of renewable energy within a smart city.

In addition to the 40 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD), sea water reverse osmosis (SWRO)-based desalination plant, the third phase of the 590 MW K-Station at Jebel Ali, and Dewa’s latest innovations and technologies in smart transformation, smart services and the continuous development of its operations, are also on display. said the statement from Dewa.

The Dubai utility's projects and initiatives include a GPS-guided autonomous bus, the Ma'rifa Collaboration Platform, Dewa smart applications, and Rammas, its virtual employee that answers customer queries in both English and Arabic on its smart app, website, Facebook and Amazon Alexa’s system and Google's Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform, in addition to Ebtikari, which encourages inventors and innovators from all over the world to send their innovations and ideas.

The Afkari portal allows Dewa’s staff to present their innovative ideas and vote on the best ideas, similar to social media sites. The firm is also demonstrating its MORO Data Hub, a world-class data centre that offers services and managed business solutions to public and private companies in the UAE and the region, and a model of its Future Centre for Customer Happiness with its smart self-service booths, which aims to simplify transactions for customers.

At Wetex 2018, Dewa is also presenting the Solar Decathlon Middle East 2018 (SDME 2018), a global competition to design, build, and operate sustainable, cost- and-energy-efficient models of solar-powered homes, which will take place at the Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park at Seih Al Dahal in Dubai.

A total of 15 teams representing 28 universities from 11 countries around the world are taking part. Dubai is hosting the first and second competitions through a partnership between the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and Dewa with the US Department of Energy. The second competition will happen in 2020 in conjunction with Expo 2020 in Dubai.

Dewa also presented its Al Namoos service, which has been especially developed to provide consultants and contractors with electricity connections of up to 150 kilowatts (kW) in one step within 7 days. Also on display are its smart initiatives to promote sustainable development.

These include Shams Dubai, which was created to encourage customers to connect solar power in buildings by installing photovoltaic panels to produce electricity, with the surplus exported to Dewa’s grid. To date, the Dubai utility has connected its grid to 1,177 solar systems placed on the roofs of buildings in Dubai, including residential, commercial and industrial facilities, with a total capacity of 54.7MW.

Dewa said it aims to increase this in the future to reach all buildings in the emirate by 2030.

The Green Charger initiatives install electric vehicle charging stations to encourage people to buy environmentally-friendly cars.

Sheikh Hamdan later visited the Enoc, Acwa Power from Saudi Arabia, Siemens, ABB, Masdar, Empower, the stands of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, the Sustainable City, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Emirates Global Aluminium, the World Green Economy Summit, Ducab, Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority and many others.

He also visited a number of national and international pavilions including the Italy pavilion and the China pavilion, which hosts the largest number of companies working in water, energy and environment.-TradeArabia News Service