Khaled hails efforts to identify new solutions and opportunities

His Highness Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, has attended the World Utilities Congress 2024, taking place at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi until 18th September, 2024.

Sheikh Khaled toured the exhibition and reviewed the latest innovations driving the global utilities ecosystem, as well as ongoing efforts to advance the sustainability of the water and electricity sectors.

He commended efforts to identify new solutions and opportunities to support secure, affordable, and sustainable utilities in the UAE and internationally.

He was accompanied during the visit by Suhail Bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure; Dr. Sultan Bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology; Mohamed Hassan Al Suwaidi, Minister of Investment; Awaidha Murshed Al Marar, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy; Saif Saeed Ghobash, Secretary-General of Abu Dhabi Executive Council; Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi; and Jasim Husain Thabet, Group CEO and Managing Director of Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA).

The World Utilities Congress 2024 serves as a global knowledge exchange and sustainable utilities innovation platform, and is hosted by TAQA.

Organised by dmg events, this year’s congress is being held under the theme ‘Enabling a Secure and Sustainable Utilities Future’.

More than 12,000 global professionals from across the power and water utilities value chain are attending the 2024 edition of the event, which features strategic and technical conferences, more than 110 sessions, over 280 global speakers, 10 energy and water ministers, and more than 1,400 conference delegates.

The third edition of the World Utilities Congress is underway in Abu Dhabi, bringing together global ministers, CEOs, and industry pioneers to address critical challenges in energy transitions, grid modernisation, and water security.

The congress was inaugurated with an opening ceremony, held in the presence of VIPs, dignitaries, and global CEOs. Keynote speeches were delivered by Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure; Jasim Husain Thabet, Group CEO and Managing Director of Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA); Mahmoud Abu-Zeid, President of the Arab Water Council; and Professor Loic Fauchon, President of the World Water Council.

Speaking on how the UAE addresses energy and water challenges, Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei said, “Together with the private sector, we invested Dhs150 billion locally, of which Dhs45 billion was invested in renewable energy projects. And we plan to invest another Dhs500 billion in the overall energy sector over the next 30 years to deliver our net-zero target.

“Today, our solar energy accounts for 6GW, wind for 110MW, and nuclear energy for 5.6GW, making our grid the cleanest in the Middle East in terms of carbon intensity. In 2023, the share of clean energy reached 27.8 percent of the energy mix, and we target over 30 percent by 2030. We doubled our renewable capacity since 2019 and plan to triple the installed capacity to over 14GW of renewable energy by 2030. In water desalination, we managed to cut the cost by 75 percent when we adopted the best-in-class RO technologies compared with the thermal process.”

The Ministerial Panel on ‘From COP28 to COP29: Fast-Tracking Climate Action from Pledges to Reality’ brought together global ministers to discuss the mechanisms needed to turn climate pledges into actionable outcomes. Dr. Sao-Kpato Hannah Isatta Max-Kyne, Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation in Sierra Leone, and Dr. William F. Duguid, Senior Minister for Infrastructure in Barbados, discussed the policies, plans, and goals being implemented in their respective countries, highlighting the importance of creating incentives for the private sector and the public to promote the use of renewable energy.

Speaking on the significance of the event, Jasim Husain Thabet, Group CEO and Managing Director of TAQA, said, “TAQA is proud to host the World Utilities Congress 2024, a key platform to bring together leading companies, innovators, and industry experts to share knowledge and find solutions to meet the growing demand for energy and water while reducing carbon emissions. Although progress has been made in addressing the impact of climate change, much more needs to be done if the global community is to achieve a successful energy transition and meet the targets to triple global renewables capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030, as agreed at COP28 in the UAE.

“We want the World Utilities Congress to be a place to foster collaboration, where innovation, digitalisation, and sustainability are embraced to solve challenges and provide a roadmap for a sustainable and prosperous future.”

The congress convened international industry leaders who advanced the dialogue in cross-industry collaboration worldwide. The Global Leadership Panel titled ‘Industry Leadership on the Road to 2030 and Beyond (UNEZA)’ hosted top executives, including Jasim Husain Thabet, Mohamed Al Hammadi, Managing Director and CEO of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), and Luc Rémont, Chairman and CEO of EDF.

WAM