Bee'ah, the country's leading environmental management company, and Masdar, Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company, have formally established the joint venture Emirates Waste to Energy Company (EWEC) to develop waste-to-energy plants across the Middle East region, it was announced Tuesday. In line with the vision of Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, around environmental challenges and ways of maintaining a pollution free environment, the first project will be the Sharjah Multi-Fuel Waste-to-Energy Facility. The plant will be the first in the region and will treat, within its first phase, more than 300,000 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) each year and have a power capacity of around 30 megawatts (MW). Bee'ah set the ambitious target for Sharjah to achieve zero waste when the company was created back in 2007. At present, the emirate diverts 70% of its waste away from landfill. With the completion of this new facility, Sharjah will soon become the first city in the Middle East to achieve the target of 100% diversion of waste from landfill. Bee'ah and Masdar said EWEC's first project would leverage the strengths of both companies to pave the way for further waste-to-energy facilities in the UAE and the region, delivering commercial solutions to meet the challenge of solid waste disposal and the ever-growing demand for clean energy. Salim Al Owais, Chairman of Bee'ah, said: "As we announce this state-of-the-art facility, it is no exaggeration to say that this is a historic day, not only for Bee'ah and Masdar, but for the whole of the UAE. Together with our strategic partner Masdar, we have set the ambitious goal of making the UAE a beacon for best environmental practices in the Middle East. We also intend to set an example to the world for how a country that has traditionally been heavily reliant on fossil fuels can embrace change and become a leader in green technology, through vision, determination and hard work." Al Owais's comments were echoed by Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar. "Masdar firmly believes in industry collaboration as the most effective way of advancing the deployment of commercially viable technologies, while supporting the UAE's goals for sustainable economic development. Our partnership with Bee'ah was first announced during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2016, and it gives me great pleasure today to see that bold statement of intent being translated into the formal launch of our joint venture Emirates Waste to Energy Company." When it comes online, the new joint venture facility in Sharjah will be able to process as much as 300,000 tons of solid waste every year that would otherwise have been buried in landfill sites, thus unlocking the potential of an untapped source of energy. In addition to recovering valuable materials for recycling, the new plant will incinerate up to 37.5 tons of solid waste per hour, generating 30MW of energy. The new waste-to-energy plant has been designed to meet the strictest environmental standards, complying with the European Union's Best Available Techniques which are widely recognized as setting the worldwide standard. Its construction and the ratification of these agreements will serve to raise the UAE's profile as a world leader in sustainability and green technology, harnessing best practices and deploying them, for the benefit of its citizens and for that of the world. — SG
