Dubai’s Waste-to-Energy Plant – Renewable Electricity for 120,000 Homes

(Dubai Municipality)

Dubai’s government announced the launch of its long-awaited waste-to-energy plant which is to be built in Warsan area, the industrial hub of this emirate. Dubai hopes to be the first city to completely induce the use of safe electricity with this very much anticipated project. The plant, which is expected to be fully functional by 2020, is able to convert 5,000 of the 8,000 tonnes of solid waste produced in Dubai daily and generate 185MW of electrical energy for the Dubai Municipal. This will contribute about 2 percent of the electricity consumed in Dubai yearly.

It is to supply electricity to about 120,000 homes at a rate proportional to energy consumed by 2,000 Burj Khalifa skyscrapers, said representatives of the government. The plant will be built on a two-hectare plot and is supposed to be the largest and best operating waste-to-energy plant the world has ever seen, the officials boasted. Work is set to begin in a few months, wrapped up and the plant made functional before the Dubai Expo 2020. A feat the government is confident they can achieve.

Dubai’s waste-to-energy plant, which has been assigned a budget of Dh2.5 billion is proposed to treat 1.82 million tonnes of solid waste each year, said Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality. Lootah added that the main aim of the project is to give support and longevity to Dubai. This will improve the sustainability of the city and will be done in partnership with DEWA (Dubai Electricity and Water Agency), he meant.

Dubai’s Waste-to-Energy Plant Provides More Than 10,000MW of Electricity to the City

Dubai’s waste-to-energy plant is to be connected to DEWA’s grid through HV 132kV cables. This modern power source will make for a sustainable electricity supply and confident Dubai, combating the rise of carbon footprint in the city. The project is also to help reduce the electricity tariff by broadening options of the power supply, maintaining longevity and providing more than 10,000MW of renewable electricity to the city.

Dubai hopes to fully produce at least 75% of its own electricity output with green sources and technologies by 2050 as its Clean Energy Strategy demands. This new plant, fed with renewable sources, makes an essential contribution to this challenging objective and will reduce the carbon footprint of the city.

The facility will be designed to reuse solid waste, industrial waste and commercial waste by recovering the energy and treating the resultant gases of combustion. Residues can be recovered from the process, will be 100% recyclable, and be dispersed as such. Residues like metals and so on will be sent out for recycling. The flue gas will go up high-pressure steam turbines which will make use of its mechanical energy to produce electricity. Flue gas from the process will be treated with lime and filtered to maintain a safe working environment. With this project, the Dubai government hopes to beat leading countries in energy supply, make its city safer to live in, and in turn increase its tourism.

Sources: Gulf News & Government of Dubai