Gulf News - Dubai utility giant DEWA flexes its financial muscles for a green future

The UAE’s grand initiative, ‘Year of Sustainability’, encourages cross-border cooperation to find innovative solutions on sustainability-related issues, including energy and climate change.

The UAE has a long history of promoting renewable energy and forming alliances for the global community's benefit. One significant cooperation is the UAE-US Partnership for Advancing Clean Energy (PACE), which will deploy an additional 100GW of clean energy.

Domestically, DEWA was one of the first agencies to switch its logo's color to green in solidarity with the sustainability drive. The action symbolized its commitment to promoting UAE's transition to a green economy. This was in conjunction to DEWA updating its strategic plan to a net-zero emission by 2050 to its vision.

The integrated utility company has a market cap of Dh121 billion.

Green hydrogen strategy

Green hydrogen is a term used to describe the process of generating energy using clean, renewable resources that assist the transition to a green economy. Technologies that accelerate energy integration are developing, and according to studies, the production of green hydrogen is to rise by 57 per cent yearly to reach 5.7 million tonnes in 2030.

As a result, the low-carbon hydrogen market is anticipated to reach over $400 billion, and the UAE intends to capture 25 per cent of the market share.

DEWA plays an instrumental role is manifesting this vision through the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The largest single-site solar park in the world on an Independent Power Producer (IPP) basis, it uses a process known as PEM electrolysis.

The plant uses some of the photovoltaic energy generated throughout the day to create green hydrogen. At night, this is transformed into electricity to provide the city with sustainable energy. The solar park's clean energy production capacity is over 2,027MW, bringing Dubai's capacity in this category to around 14 per cent.

Intentions into action

DEWA is focused on launching investments that promote the green economy through innovative tech. An example is the creation of a 250MW pumped-storage hydroelectric power facility at Hatta. A first of its kind in the Gulf, the facility utilizes water stored in Hatta Dam and is expected to have a production capacity of 250MW as well as a 1,500MW-hour storage capacity. The hydroelectric power plant is expected to have a turnaround efficiency of 78.9 per cent.

Financial stability

DEWA's ambitious plans are supported by solid financial backing. The total revenues for 2022 grew 15 per cent reaching Dh27 billion, while net profit rose 22 per cent to Dh8 billion. In addition, it has a strong liquidity position of Dh12.7 billion, enabling impressive dividends.

For 2022, the Group plans to distribute Dh9.9 billion to its shareholders, representing a 60 per cent increase.