World future energy, centre stage at Middle East’s largest gathering on sustainability

Future energy, centre stage at Middle East’s largest gathering on sustainability 

The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week was held from 12 - 21 January in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital. It was the first global gathering dedicated to sustainability since the COP22 which took place in Marrakech, Morocco last November. The forum which aims to stimulate international dialogue and action, gathered more than 35,000 participants, including over 4,000 senior executives, 73 government ministers and representatives from international organizations, business and civil society. This year’s edition, which ran under the theme "practical steps towards a sustainable future", included the International Water Summit, the EcoWASTE exhibition and several other conferences and leadership events.

The World Future Energy Summit was the anchor event of the week, dedicated to advancing energy efficiency and clean technology. Hosted by the Masdar Institute, the summit provided a platform for the announcement of several important key business milestones. In his opening address, Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, forecasted “that countries and markets are beyond the tipping point, and soon renewable energy will become the conventional energy”. The Saudi Arabia delegation, led by the Minister of Energy, Industry & Mineral Resources, presented plans to invest up to $50 billion in renewable projects by 2023, with the aim of generating 9.5 gigawatts, mainly from wind and solar plants.

Funding was confirmed for the largest solar power plant in Jordan. The 200-megawatt (MW) photovoltaic facility will be built 10 kilometres from the capital Amman, by the Baynouna Solar Energy Company, supported by the International Finance Corporation. Once connected to the national grid, it will supply the annual power needs of around 110,000 homes and reduce emissions by an estimated 360,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum. This follows the recent inauguration of the 117 MW Tafila wind farm, the region’s largest onshore wind power development. The combined output of the two plants will account for nearly 18% of the 1.8 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy Jordan plans to install by 2020.