Page 11 - RSB Annual Report 2020 English

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN 2020 was a year like no other in living memory. The world faced its greatest public health challenge for a century and the response to that challenge had profound social and economic consequences worldwide. The United Arab Emirates adopted a package of response widely recognised as one of the most effective globally. From the national disinfection campaign at the onset of the crisis, to the economic support from governmental bodies, to the large-scale testing programme and case tracking, and the rapid trialling, approval and free rollout of vaccines to citizens and residents, the UAE mitigated the worst effects of the pandemic. We sought to play our own part in adapting to the circumstances and supporting the national Covid 19 effort. We gave support to our accredited ESCOs, waiving accreditation fees for part of last year as our contribution to easing economic challenges brought about by the pandemic. We sought to direct our independent power producer licensees to adhere to the precautionary measures imposed by the government to fight this pandemic and ensure they had in place effective measures to keep their staff and contractors safe. And, of course, we adapted our working methods, developing effective remote working and maintaining stakeholder engagement through online means. As a result, 2020 was a year in which progress towards Dubai’s energy targets continued unabated. More capacity was commissioned at the Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park, and Hassyan Energy’s first 600MW unit of the clean coal plant achieved commercial operation. Despite the pandemic we are also considering the licensing of the first independent water project, a 120MIGD seawater reverse osmosis plant at the Hassyan site for which DEWA achieved a world-best tariff of 27.7 US cents per cubic meter of desalinated water. The RSB has also managed to work towards licensing a new independent power project launched by Dubai Municipality in collaboration with local and international companies to build a 200MW waste to energy plant, which will achieve Dubai’s waste management ambitions, whilst adding still more clean energy to the DEWA grid. Finally, I would like to thank my fellow board members and colleagues at the RSB for their great efforts in performing their duties despite 2020’s harsh conditions. The RSB’s board members and executive staff managed to adapt to the circumstances imposed by the pandemic and maintained our effectiveness and our plans, and to them I am thankful and grateful. ALI BIN ABDULLAH AL OWAIS CHAIRMAN Annual Report 2020 RSB 11