Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower) said it has signed an agreement with Tadweer for the development of two waste-to-energy plants with a total capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per year. They will reduce CO2 emissions by 2.5 million tonnes annually.
ADPower will be implementing the project in partnership with its subsidiary Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec).
The WTE plants, which will come up in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, would have the potential to transform up to 1.5 million tonnes of municipal waste into energy every year and collectively reduce CO2 emissions by 2.5 million tonnes annually - equivalent to the removal of more than 500,000 cars from the road.
The first plant – to be located in the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi (ICAD) in the Mussafah region – would have an expected processing capacity of up to 900,000 tonnes of waste per year and generate up to 90 MW of electricity (equivalent to powering an average of 22,500 UAE households), making it one of the largest WTE facilities in the region.
The Abu Dhabi plant is also expected to be among the largest WTE facilities in the Middle East.
The plant is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 1.5 million tonnes per year (equivalent to the removal of more than 300,000 cars from the road), said Jasim Husain Thabet, CEO and Managing Director of ADPower; after signing the deal with Othman Al Ali, CEO of Ewec; and Dr Salem Al Kaabi, General Manager of Tadweer.
The second plant – to be located in Al Ain – would have an expected processing capacity of up to 600,000 tonnes of waste per year and generate up to 60 MW of electricity (equivalent to powering an average of 15,000 UAE households).
Expected reductions of CO2 emissions would be approximately 1 million tonnes per year (equivalent to the removal of more than 200,000 cars from the road), stated Thabet.
"This MoU represents a significant milestone for Abu Dhabi as we deliver on the objectives set out in UAE Vision 2021, which aims to divert 75 per cent of waste away from landfills," he noted.
The proposed WTE plants will reduce the impact of waste on the environment and human health, helping to deliver on the water and electricity sector’s sustainability agenda, he added.
Ewec CEO Othman Al Ali said: "We are delighted to partner with Tadweer to significantly enhance Abu Dhabi’s waste-to-energy infrastructure, in line with both our sustainability-focused mission at Ewec as well as the nation’s wider commitments."
"The project will also serve as a benchmark throughout the region for the development of sustainable WTE facilities and waste management systems," he stated.
Tadweer GM Dr Salem Al Kaabi said: "This agreement is aligned with Tadweer’s continued efforts to divert waste from landfills and encourage environmentally friendly and commercially viable solutions to address the challenges posed by the treatment of large volume of waste."
"In working closely with our partners, Tadweer is proud to steer Abu Dhabi’s sustainability agenda through the implementation of an integrated, world-class waste management system that ensures a cleaner and more sustainable environment for present and future generations" he added.
The proposed WTE plants would be developed through the Independent Power Producers (IPP) model, applied in respect of Abu Dhabi power projects since 1998.
In line with such model, a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) would be entered into, with Ewec as the off-taker of the electricity and Tadweer as the provider of feedstock waste under a long-term waste supply agreement, said Al Kaabi.
ADPower said private sector participants would be invited to submit proposals to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the facilities, which will use advanced moving grate technology to convert municipal solid waste into electricity via a high-efficiency steam turbine generator set.
Ash from the process will be processed and recycled into reusable material, it added.
