Latest news with #Archipelagos
Gulf Today
3 days ago
- Business
- Gulf Today
Dewa and Shell explore ways to advance clean energy drive
Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD&CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), welcomed a high-level delegation from Shell, led by Fakher Bader, Country Chair for Iraq and the UAE. The delegation included Geraldine Wessing, Chief Political Analyst – Strategy Insights & Scenarios; and Hessa Abdulla, MENA Media Lead. The meeting centered on Shell's latest report, The 2025 Energy Security Scenarios: Energy and Artificial Intelligence, which explores how AI could reshape global energy systems through three distinct pathways: Archipelagos, Horizon, and Surge. These scenarios are vital tools for strategic decision-making, helping stakeholders anticipate future challenges, assess risks, and identify opportunities in a rapidly evolving energy landscape. Discussions also highlighted opportunities for synergy in advancing a circular and green economy. Al Tayer shared Dewa's pioneering projects in clean energy, particularly the ongoing development of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the world's largest single-site solar park based on the independent power producer (IPP) model. Its current capacity is 3,860 megawatts (MW), with a planned capacity of 7,260MW by 2030 (the original plan was 5,000 megawatts). The 1,800MW sixth phase of the solar park uses the latest bifacial solar photovoltaic technologies with single-axis tracking. This phase, developed under the IPP model, will provide clean energy for approximately 540,000 residences and reduce around 2.36 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually. Al Tayer also highlighted the Al Shera'a building, Dewa's new headquarters, which will be the tallest and largest net-positive energy government building in the world. Al Shera'a is designed to achieve platinum certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and silver certification in the WELL Building Standard. The building will leverage advanced technologies including the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics and AI, alongside modern renewable energy solutions that ensure outstanding efficiency. He also underlined Dewa's remarkable achievements in adopting AI technologies. Dewa has launched a strategic roadmap to become the world's first AI-native utility, integrating artificial intelligence across all core operations. This supports Dewa's global leadership, ranking first worldwide in 12 key performance indicators in its areas of work. In 2024, Dewa recorded the world's lowest electricity transmission and distribution network losses at 2%, compared to 6% to 7% in Europe and the USA. Water transmission and distribution losses were also the lowest globally, at 4.5%. Additionally, Dewa set a world record for the lowest customer minutes lost (CML), achieving 0.94 minutes per year, compared to an average of 15 minutes in the European Union. Fakher Bader affirmed Shell's commitment to supporting the UAE's clean energy transition. Separately, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer received recently the certificate for the Energy Infrastructure Award, which Dewa won at the prestigious 2024 S&P Global Platts Energy Awards for the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. Outperforming 1,000 leading companies that applied for this global honour, Dewa is the first utility in the Middle East and North Africa to receive this award. The Platts Global Energy Awards, presented by S&P Global Commodity Insights, are a prestigious annual event recognising excellence in the energy industry. Often called the 'Oscars of the energy industry,' they acknowledge individuals and corporations for their achievements in innovation, leadership, and contributions to shaping the future of the energy sector. The awards cover various categories, including sustainability, innovation, energy infrastructure, and technology, and have been presented since 1999, drawing participation from leading global energy companies and innovators. Al Tayer said, 'Guided by the vision of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Biin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, excellence has become a genuine and continuous approach in the UAE. Based on this proactive vision, and in line with the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100% of energy production capacity from clean sources by 2050, we look forward to broader horizons of leadership and innovation. We continue to strengthen our preparedness for the future and advance the sustainability of our robust, integrated infrastructure – ensuring it can meet the ambitions of both current and future generations while keeping pace with Dubai's flourishing urban and demographic growth. Dewa) has won two Reuters Global Energy Transition Awards 2025, presented by Thomson Reuters, the international news agency. WAM
Al Etihad
3 days ago
- Business
- Al Etihad
DEWA, Shell explore co-operation to advance clean energy, green economy goals
26 July 2025 19:06 DUBAI (WAM)Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD&CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), welcomed a high-level delegation from Shell, led by Fakher Bader, Country Chair for Iraq and the delegation included Geraldine Wessing, Chief Political Analyst – Strategy Insights & Scenarios, and Hessa Abdulla, MENA Media meeting centred on Shell's latest report, The 2025 Energy Security Scenarios: Energy and Artificial Intelligence, which explores how AI could reshape global energy systems through three distinct pathways: Archipelagos, Horizon, and scenarios are vital tools for strategic decision-making, helping stakeholders anticipate future challenges, assess risks, and identify opportunities in a rapidly evolving energy landscape. Discussions also highlighted opportunities for synergy in advancing a circular and green Tayer shared DEWA's pioneering projects in clean energy, particularly the ongoing development of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the world's largest single-site solar park based on the independent power producer (IPP) model. Its current capacity is 3,860 megawatts (MW), with a planned capacity of 7,260MW by 2030 (the original plan was 5,000 megawatts).The 1,800MW sixth phase of the solar park uses the latest bifacial solar photovoltaic technologies with single-axis tracking. This phase, developed under the IPP model, will provide clean energy for approximately 540,000 residences and reduce around 2.36 million tonnes of carbon emissions Tayer also highlighted the Al Shera'a building, DEWA's new headquarters, which will be the tallest and largest net-positive energy government building in the world. Al Shera'a is designed to achieve platinum certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and silver certification in the WELL Building Standard. The building will leverage advanced technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics and AI, alongside modern renewable energy solutions that ensure outstanding also underlined DEWA's remarkable achievements in adopting AI technologies. DEWA has launched a strategic roadmap to become the world's first AI-native utility, integrating artificial intelligence across all core operations. This supports DEWA's global leadership, ranking first worldwide in 12 key performance indicators in its areas of work. In 2024, DEWA recorded the world's lowest electricity transmission and distribution network losses at 2%, compared to 6% to 7% in Europe and the USA. Water transmission and distribution losses were also the lowest globally, at 4.5%. Additionally, DEWA set a world record for the lowest customer minutes lost (CML), achieving 0.94 minutes per year, compared to an average of 15 minutes in the European Union. Fakher Bader affirmed Shell's commitment to supporting the UAE's clean energy transition.
Borneo Post
17-06-2025
- Business
- Borneo Post
Energy demand continues to rise across Shell's energy scenarios
Wood is seen during the presentation of Shell's 2025 Energy Security Scenarios during Energy Asia 2025. KUALA LUMPUR (June 17): As demand for energy continues to rise steadily ahead, international energy player Shell predicts energy systems will see subtle shifts that will lead to a more substantial transformation by the year 2060. Shell chief energy advisor, Peter Wood, said this during a special showcase of Shell's 2025 Energy Security Scenarios during Energy Asia 2025 at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on Monday. Shell outlined three AI-driven energy scenarios, all exceeding the 1.5 degrees celsius Paris Agreement limit but projecting progress in decarbonisation and carbon removal. Shell's latest energy scenarios offer a nuanced look at potential global energy pathways, outlining three distinct futures: Horizon, Surge, and Archipelagos, each providing different frameworks for the possible interplay of economic, social, and technological factors that will shape the world's energy landscape until 2040. 'While the historical trend of rapid energy growth is not expected to continue at the same pace, all three scenarios project steadily more energy demand,' he said. Horizon demands constrained growth; Archipelagos faces trade-related limitations; and Surge allows for further growth due to economic expansion. He noted that the composition of energy is consistently changing towards more non-fossil sources, with renewables (solar and wind) playing an increasingly significant role. 'The energy system within both the Archipelagos and Surge scenarios, is not significantly different from the energy system observed today in terms of total fossil fuel demand,' Wood said. 'However, a closer examination reveals subtle shifts within this overall demand. Specifically, there will be less coal, broadly the same amount of oil, and slightly more gas. 'It is these underlying changes, combined with new additions to the energy system, that will lead to more substantial transformations by 2060.' A key observation regarding the energy system, he said, is that people tend to overestimate change in the short run but underestimate it in the long run. This phenomenon is largely due to the pervasive nature of long-lived capital stock. 'For instance, cars, airplanes and ships – these assets persist for extended periods, though not indefinitely.' Regarding Shell's outlook on oil demand, Wood noted that there is a projected spread between the Archipelagos and Surge scenarios on the higher end, with Horizon projecting slightly lower demand. Current global oil demand stands at approximately 100 million barrels per day. 'Shell anticipates a modest amount of further growth for perhaps another five to seven years, influenced by economic conditions and, to a lesser extent, weather patterns. This growth will not be linear, as global demand will fluctuate,' he said. 'However, Shell does not foresee substantial growth in oil demand beyond 2030, nor does it expect a precipitous decline. In a truly net-zero world, oil demand would evidently need to begin a downward trajectory, yet current forecasts do not indicate this is happening.' Meanwhile, 'hard-to-abate' sectors like aviation, marine, and petrochemicals are particularly challenging to decarbonise through electrification, and their demand could even increase beyond 2050. The high cost competitiveness of traditional fuels compared to alternatives (biofuels, sustainable aviation fuels) for these sectors presents a significant hurdle. Meanwhile, the future of natural gas demand shows a greater spread across the scenarios due to varying levels of competition from low-carbon electricity and coal. 'In Surge, natural gas plays a crucial role in complementing renewables, while in Archipelagos, demand is lower due to trade constraints. 'Notably, new gas demand is projected to come primarily from 'gas starters' – lower-middle and upper-middle-income countries whose economies are industrialising.' energy Energy Asia 2025 oil and gas Shell
Kuwait Times
04-06-2025
- Business
- Kuwait Times
Coral-rich Greek archipelago hopes to gain from trawler ban
As a reddish dawn broke over the tiny, coral-rich Greek archipelago of Fournoi, Manolis Mytikas's wooden fishing boat slowly glided home, his nets almost empty. The modest catch nevertheless quickly drew several islanders in search of fresh fish, a rarity in past years in this island chain in the northeastern Aegean Sea, which has fewer than 1,500 inhabitants in total. 'Today, there were two of us heading out to sea, and we caught some fish by chance,' said the 76-year-old fisherman, his skin deeply tanned by the Mediterranean sun. 'Yesterday, we earned 30 euros ($34). The day before yesterday, not a penny. Sometimes, we don't even have enough to eat,' he told AFP. But things could be looking up for this small corner of the Aegean Sea. Last month, the Greek government banned bottom trawling in the waters around the archipelago, to protect a recent discovery of exceptionally rich coral reefs. Greece is also outlawing bottom trawling in national marine parks by 2026 and in all protected marine areas by 2030, the first country in Europe to take such a step. Fishing is generally allowed in protected marine areas worldwide, often even by trawlers, which scrape the seabed with a huge funnel-shaped net. 'Finally!' Mytikas exclaimed when told of the ban. 'They've ravaged the sea. They plough the seabed and destroy everything.' At the island port, his colleague Vaggelis Markakis, 58, compared trawlers to 'bulldozers'. 'If we stop them from coming here, our sea will come back to life,' Mytikas said. 'The sea will be filled with fish again.' Research conducted in this archipelago by the conservation groups Under the Pole, which organizes diving expeditions in extreme environments, and Archipelagos, in collaboration with European scientific institutions, has highlighted the existence of major underwater animal populations. At depths between 60 and 150 meters (around 200 to 500 feet), scientists have documented over 300 species living on the seabed under minimal light. Fishing trawlers docked with "doors" (heavy metal that widen the net opening) at the port of Nea Michaniona. Workers operate next to a fishing trawler docked with "doors" (heavy metal that widen the net opening). Fishing trawlers docked at the port of Nea Michaniona. This photograph shows corals in the deep sea off the coast of the Greek island of Fournoi. This photograph shows corals in the deep sea off the coast of the Greek island of Fournoi. 'Underwater forests' 'What we discovered is beyond imagination - vast coral reefs dating back thousands of years, still intact,' gushed Anastasia Miliou, scientific director of Archipelagos. The sea floor-dwelling species discovered include vibrantly red gorgonians (Paramuricea clavata) and black corals (Antipathella subpinnata). 'When these organisms occur at high densities, they form true underwater forests,' said Lorenzo Bramanti, a researcher at the CNRS Laboratory of Ecogeochemistry of Benthic Environments. But these habitats are extremely sensitive. 'A single trawl pass is enough to raze them,' warned Stelios Katsanevakis, professor of oceanography at the University of the Aegean. And the damage can be potentially irreversible, added Bramanti. 'Once destroyed, these forests may take decades or even centuries to recover,' said the marine scientist, who has worked on corals in the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Pacific. 'No one doubts that cutting down a forest is an ecological disaster. The same is true for animal forests,' Bramanti said. Setting an example By banning bottom trawling around Fournoi, Bramanti hopes Greece will set an example for other Mediterranean countries, he said. 'We must act quickly, because these are among the last ecosystems still untouched by climate change,' given that they are located at depths greater than 70 meters, he said. 'And we risk losing them before we even truly understand them.' But the measure has left industrial fishing professionals fuming. HYT, There are around 220 bottom trawlers in Greece, and sector representatives complain restrictions on their activity are excessive 'We were not invited to any kind of discussion on this matter,' said Kostas Daoultzis, head of the trawler cooperative at the northern port of Nea Michaniona, one of the country's main fish markets. Daoultzis said the decisions were 'based on reports from volunteer organizations lacking scientific backing'. He said trawlers already avoid coral areas, which can damage their equipment. Fournoi fishermen counter that trawlers do fish in their waters, but turn off their tracking systems to avoid detection. Under pressure globally, trawling is likely to be on the agenda at a United Nations Ocean Conference next week in the French city of Nice. Daoultzis said he fears for the survival of his profession. 'Our fishing spaces keep shrinking. Our activity is under threat, and consumers will suffer - fish prices will skyrocket,' he warned. - AFP
France 24
03-06-2025
- Science
- France 24
Coral-rich Greek archipelago hopes to gain from trawler ban
The modest catch nevertheless quickly drew several islanders in search of fresh fish, a rarity in past years in this island chain in the northeastern Aegean Sea, which has fewer than 1,500 inhabitants in total. "Today, there were two of us heading out to sea, and we caught some fish by chance," said the 76-year-old fisherman, his skin deeply tanned by the Mediterranean sun. "Yesterday, we earned 30 euros ($34). The day before yesterday, not a penny. Sometimes, we don't even have enough to eat," he told AFP. But things could be looking up for this small corner of the Aegean Sea. Last month, the Greek government banned bottom trawling in the waters around the archipelago, to protect a recent discovery of exceptionally rich coral reefs. Greece is also outlawing bottom trawling in national marine parks by 2026 and in all protected marine areas by 2030, the first country in Europe to take such a step. Fishing is generally allowed in protected marine areas worldwide, often even by trawlers, which scrape the seabed with a huge funnel-shaped net. "Finally!" Mytikas exclaimed when told of the ban. "They've ravaged the sea. They plough the seabed and destroy everything." At the island port, his colleague Vaggelis Markakis, 58, compared trawlers to "bulldozers". "If we stop them from coming here, our sea will come back to life," Mytikas said. "The sea will be filled with fish again." Research conducted in this archipelago by the conservation groups Under the Pole, which organises diving expeditions in extreme environments, and Archipelagos, in collaboration with European scientific institutions, has highlighted the existence of major underwater animal populations. At depths between 60 and 150 meters (around 200 to 500 feet), scientists have documented over 300 species living on the seabed under minimal light. 'Underwater forests' "What we discovered is beyond imagination -- vast coral reefs dating back thousands of years, still intact," gushed Anastasia Miliou, scientific director of Archipelagos. The sea floor-dwelling species discovered include vibrantly red gorgonians (Paramuricea clavata) and black corals (Antipathella subpinnata). "When these organisms occur at high densities, they form true underwater forests," said Lorenzo Bramanti, a researcher at the CNRS Laboratory of Ecogeochemistry of Benthic Environments. But these habitats are extremely sensitive. "A single trawl pass is enough to raze them," warned Stelios Katsanevakis, professor of oceanography at the University of the Aegean. And the damage can be potentially irreversible, added Bramanti. "Once destroyed, these forests may take decades or even centuries to recover," said the marine scientist, who has worked on corals in the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Pacific. "No one doubts that cutting down a forest is an ecological disaster. The same is true for animal forests," Bramanti said. Setting an example By banning bottom trawling around Fournoi, Bramanti hopes Greece will set an example for other Mediterranean countries, he said. "We must act quickly, because these are among the last ecosystems still untouched by climate change," given that they are located at depths greater than 70 meters, he said. "And we risk losing them before we even truly understand them." But the measure has left industrial fishing professionals fuming. There are around 220 bottom trawlers in Greece, and sector representatives complain restrictions on their activity are excessive. "We were not invited to any kind of discussion on this matter," said Kostas Daoultzis, head of the trawler cooperative at the northern port of Nea Michaniona, one of the country's main fish markets. Daoultzis said the decisions were "based on reports from volunteer organisations... lacking scientific backing". He said trawlers already avoid coral areas, which can damage their equipment. Fournoi fishermen counter that trawlers do fish in their waters, but turn off their tracking systems to avoid detection. Under pressure globally, trawling is likely to be on the agenda at a United Nations Ocean Conference next week in the French city of Nice. Daoultzis said he fears for the survival of his profession. "Our fishing spaces keep shrinking. Our activity is under threat, and consumers will suffer -- fish prices will skyrocket," he warned.
