Dubai unveils 1st phase of world’s largest waste-to-energy plant

By Shilpa Annie Joseph, Official Reporter
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Waste to Energy Centre in Warsan
Officials visiting centre | Courtesy: Dubai Media Office

HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, has launched the first phase of the Waste to Energy Centre in Warsan, the world’s largest and most efficient waste-to-energy plant.

The Dubai Waste-to-Energy Centre will make significant contributions to Dubai’s efforts to enhance environmental sustainability and mitigate climate change by reducing 2,400 tones of carbon emissions annually by diverting waste from landfills.

It will also help raise the share of clean energy sources in Dubai’s energy mix. The facility converts daily waste equivalent to that generated by 3 million people into energy and uses recycled water to produce the steam required to power the center’s electricity-generating turbine.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Crown Prince of Dubai & Chairman of Dubai Executive Council

“Dubai continues to accelerate its transition to a green economy by building a world-class clean energy infrastructure. Guided by the vision of the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to transform Dubai into one of the world’s most sustainable cities, the emirate has steadily expanded its capacity to produce energy from renewable sources. The start of the operations of the Waste to Energy Centre in Warsan takes Dubai another step closer to achieving its strategy to create the world’s best sustainable ecosystem. We are committed to building a better future for future generations by ensuring our ambitious economic development programs maintain the highest standards of sustainability and environmental preservation.”

“The new Waste to Energy Centre has a comprehensive, eco-friendly waste management system that integrates global sustainability benchmarks,” Sheikh Hamdan added.

The Waste-to-Energy Centre in Warsan was built in partnership with a consortium of five local and international private sector companies, which include Dubai Holding, Dubal Holding, Itoshu, Hitachi Zosen Innova, and Besix Group.

The new facility also contributes to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the objectives of the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference COP 28 and the UAE’s Year of Sustainability by minimizing the volume of solid waste directed to landfills, cultivating alternative sources of clean energy, and upgrading the waste management system in Dubai.

The Centre also seeks to achieve the objectives of the Dubai Master Waste Management Plan 2021-2041 aimed at applying global best practices in integrated waste management, providing a safe work environment to encourage promising investments, creating new competitive opportunities in waste management in Dubai, and undertaking long-term projects that offer practical solutions to environmental challenges in line with Dubai’s sustainable economic development agenda.

The Centre can accommodate around 133 waste trucks per hour, which can deliver their loads through 27 gates in less than 15 minutes. The Centre employs the latest Japanese and Swiss technologies in waste management and waste-to-energy processes. All emissions are thoroughly treated using a textile filter made up of 12,480 cylindrical filter bags. The Centre also implements comprehensive measures to eliminate any odors resulting from waste management.

Earlier this year, Dubai Municipality and the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) signed an agreement to buy energy from the Waste to Energy Centre for 35 years for distribution to end users.

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