UAE and Austria Deepen Renewable Energy Ties: DEWA and Austrian Officials Explore Green Economy Collaboration

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), welcomed HE Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer, Austria’s Federal Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, during a high-level meeting in Dubai. HE Etienne Berchtold, Ambassador of Austria to the UAE, also participated in the talks, which focused on enhancing bilateral collaboration in renewable energy and sustainability.

Also in attendance were senior DEWA executives, including Waleed bin Salman, Executive Vice President of Business Development and Excellence; Dr Yousef Al Akraf, Executive Vice President of Business Support and Human Resources; and Marwan Bin Haidar, Executive Vice President of Innovation and the Future.

The meeting centred around DEWA’s commitment to global partnerships in climate action, aligning with the UAE’s ambition to lead the transition to a green economy. Both parties discussed opportunities for collaboration in advancing clean energy technologies, knowledge sharing, and addressing climate change challenges through innovation.

HE Al Tayer underscored Dubai’s strategic objectives under the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative and the Dubai Clean Energy and Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategies, which aim to meet 100% of the emirate’s energy needs from clean sources by 2050. He highlighted DEWA’s role in executing these plans, particularly through the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park — the world’s largest single-site solar facility, with a targeted capacity of 7,260 megawatts (MW) by 2030. The solar park is projected to reduce carbon emissions by approximately eight million tonnes annually.

Al Tayer also shared DEWA’s global achievements, including leading 12 key performance indicators globally, and recording the lowest electricity transmission and distribution losses at 2%, compared to the global average of 6%–7%. Water losses stood at 4.5%, and DEWA achieved a world-record low of 0.94 customer minutes lost annually, outperforming the EU average of 15 minutes.

DEWA’s adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies was also highlighted, with AI integration across its services aimed at enhancing sustainability, efficiency, and customer experience. Al Tayer further introduced “Al Shera’a,” DEWA’s new headquarters, poised to be the world’s tallest, largest, and smartest net-zero energy government building, achieving top LEED and WELL certifications and powered by advanced technologies such as IoT, Big Data, and AI.

Minister Hattmannsdorfer expressed appreciation for the fruitful dialogue, stressing Austria’s strong interest in expanding cooperation with the UAE in the renewable energy sector. He described the UAE as a vital strategic partner and emphasized the importance of transforming shared expertise into tangible joint projects.