Dubai to convert waste to energy

Waste will be burned through grate furnaces to produce electric power and minimise waste in landfills.

The emirate of Dubai will get a large plant that will convert solid waste to energy in the next three years, Dubai Municipality officials announced on Monday.
The plant is expected to operate in the second quarter of 2020 and the proposed location is Warsan 2 beside the landfill site.
Through the first phase, the plant will generate 60 megawatts of electricity from 2,000 metric tonnes of municipal solid waste per day. It will take up an area of 7.5 hectares in the first phrase, and will expand to 15.5 hectares over the next stages.
Waste will be burned through grate furnace to produce electric power and minimize waste disposed in landfills.
Figures showed that in 2014, the quantity of municipal solid waste was estimated to be 7000 tonnes per day.
Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director-General of Dubai Municipality, said the project is in line with Dubai Strategic plan 2021 to shift Dubai to a sustainable and smart city.
He added that it aims to achieve the UAE National Agenda 2021 by reducing waste to 75 per cent by 2021 and using up land wasted by landfills in protecting the environment of methane emission.
Mohammed Abdulaziz Najm, Director of Sewage Treatment Department, said the plant will generate electricity sufficient for more than 14,000 homes.
According to him, burning the waste will help get rid of 70 per cent of waste mass, with 90 per cent of the remaining ash to be used for construction operations and as a base for asphalt and basalt of paving roads.
The plant will also contribute to reducing environmental hazards caused by methane gas, which is 24 times more than ones generated carbon dioxide.
The municipality will release the tender to 10 qualified companies by the end of June on the project that will cost Dh2 billion. The qualified company will be selected in April 2017.
Essa Al Maidoor, Deputy-Director General of Dubai Municipality, said the project, along with three upcoming ones, is coordinated with the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) and Dubai Supreme Council of Energy aimed to provide seven per cent of Dubai's energy from solar sources by 2020 following the Clean Energy Strategy of 2050.
Other proposed projects include removing organic waste, generating electricity from landfill in Al Qusais and Jebel Ali and converting methane gas to power.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com