Waste Management and Renewable Energy Firms Shake Hands : Waste to Energy Agreement Between Masdar and Bee’ah in UAE
An agreement to work on a development platform for future waste to energy projects across the UAE between Abu Dhabi based renewable energy firm, Masdar, and fellow UAE firm Bee’ah – an environmental service company – has been signed today at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
According to the firms they are joining hands to co-develop waste to energy initiatives in Sharjah, the UAE and the region as a whole. This partnership contributes to the UAE Government’s Vision 2021 which targets, among other goals, diverting waste from landfills by 75% by 2021.
The partnership – announced at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) which runs in parallel to the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, also establishes a platform to develop similar future projects across the Middle East.
Under the agreement a Centre of Excellence in Waste Management will also be set up in Sharjah to advance education, innovation and capacity building in waste to energy.
“This high profile agreement with Masdar gives the green light for an innovative approach to environmental solutions and energy, and will radically improve our efforts to preserve the wonders of our natural habitat for tomorrow’s generation,” commented His Excellency Salim Al Owais, chairman of Bee'ah.
“Central to this agreement is placing our cutting-edge recycling technologies along with Masdar’s distinguished energy know-how, at the disposal of our community,” he continued.
Dr Ahmad Belhoul, CEO of Masdar, added: “When people think of sustainability they tend to focus on the water-energy-food nexus, but waste is a critical part of the equation. Dumping waste in landfills is not desirable, so finding innovative ways to release the embodied energy in waste is crucial if we are to address the sustainability challenges of increased urbanisation and consumerism.”
“This agreement allows Masdar to deploy its extensive expertise and experience in clean energy project structuring, financing, asset management and project delivery, which we have gained over the past 10 years, while at the same time helping the UAE reduce carbon emissions and meet its renewable energy targets,” he continued.
Established in 2007, Bee’ah said that it collects around 2.3 million tonnes of waste from nearly 1 million households in Sharjah each year while diverting 70% of its collected waste.
"Environmental consciousness, clean energy and sustainable entrepreneurship are nothing new to either Bee’ah or Masdar,” commented Khaled Al-Huraimel, Group CEO of Bee’ah. “But the agreement at hand will further propel our efforts towards an ever more sustainable future.”
Al Huraimel added that the partnership formed a consortium to participate in the tender process for the announced Integrated Waste Management: Northern Emirates project managed by the Ministry of Environment and Water, which, if successful, will see two additional waste to energy plants constructed in the UAE by about 2021.
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