NEWS FROM THE BIG 5 - DAY 2
A selection of images and statements from key speakers at the largest construction event in the Middle East today
IMAGE GALLERY - DAY 2
KEY STATEMENTS FROM THE GLOBAL SOLAR LEADERS SUMMIT AT THE BIG 5 SOLAR
The overview from Vivek Chaturvedi, Regional Business Director - Solar, DSM India, Middle East and Africa:
“It is important that we are cognizant of prevailing planetary conditions as most of the standards that exist for solar today were implemented 20 years ago, and based on countries with more temperate climates, like the US and Germany. Growth in the next 30 years will come from this part of the world (and other regions with harsher climates), so there are a lot of considerations that have not been addressed. These standards need to be discussed by the power that be, and that’s where new technologies and materials are likely to play a role so that the solar industry is able to deliver the returns that investors expect from this region."
Dalia Hawila, Programme Officer, Policy Advice, IRENA said:
“The main success we have seen is the political commitment towards renewable energy, which gives investors confidence in the long term vision of what is happening in the market, and incentive to invest"
Faisal Rashid, Director, Demand Side Management, Dubai Supreme Council of Energy affirmed government stance on the topic:
“The cost of solar is very competitive and the price is dropping significantly, which is sending out a clear message. On the supply side in Dubai, 300MW is already commissioned with 800 MW to be commissioned by 2021 along with 700 MW CSP. Looking globally, in the last 5 years solar has registers down higher new capacity than all other forms of energy and has also added green jobs to the market.”
In his keynote session, Ali Mohammed Al Jassim, CEO, Etihad ESCO said:
“Today, we are leading the region in energy efficiency. We saved Dubai AED40mn in 2016/17 through retrofitting and our success story had an echo around the globe. We have a plan and target to retrofit 30,000 buildings - a target of 2,000 per year. No other city has put such a challenging target but we have a path, a goal, a plan. The target is 30% by 2030; it’s just a matter of time.
“We are also talking about building labeling. Every building that has been retrofitted and achieved savings should be recognised. We are working on the operational plan and it will be made public in 2019/20.”
Speaking on Green Financing, Ivano Iannelli, CEO, Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence forecast:
“By 2030, 25% of Dubai’s energy mix will come from renewable solutions, both from utility scale and distributed, such as solar rooftops, solar car parks and other installations."
Mohammed Atif, Area Manager, Energy, Middle East & Africa, DNV GL - Energy spoke on Solar PV Plus Energy Storage:
“If you have a longer term vision and belief that we can achieve a highly decarbonised system, or 100% decarbonised system, then Solar PV Plus storage is one of the key facilitators."
Dr. Raed Bkayrat, Managing Director, Clean Energy Business Council, spoke on the digital side of solar energy:
“If we look at drones, they can be used at every stage of solar panel cycle. They can add value from time-saving topography research to the construction monitoring stage to operations where they are used to conduct inspections and collect data. Today, we are mostly in manual mode but everything is being converted to AI."
Pierre Samaties, CEO and Managing Partner, Innogy International Middle East looked forward:
“The future will be more decentralized, more digitalised and more decarbonised. I see us having many more micro grids, cities having their own energy systems and a lot of amazing things happening in the home.”
Minjian Hu, CEO, Hanergy Middle East concluded on the potential of urban solar:
“To put it into perspective, a tower the size and shape of Burj Khalifa carried by PV glass would have a daily electricity production of more than 1,700 kWh.”
Last but not least, the world's eyes are on us: Marius Kaiser, Director, Technical Department and Product Management, Canadian Solar EMEA:
“Expo 2020 presents a very good opportunity to spread awareness in the UAE and to the world, and within the Expo site there will be different kinds of technology in action that is linked to the renewables sector.”
Organised by dmg events, The Big 5 2018 is open from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm daily, from 26 to 29 November at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
To know more visit: www.thebig5.ae