Environmental management firm Bee'ah has formed a joint venture (JV) with renewable energy developer Masdar to build waste-to-energy plants across the Middle East region.
Dubbed Emirates Waste to Energy Company (EWEC), the JV will build their first waste-to-energy power project in the UAE at Sharjah.
The Sharjah multi-fuel waste-to-energy facility, the plant will have a capacity of 30MW.
In its first phase, the plant will treat over 300,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) each year.
Bee'ah said that the first waste-to-energy plant of the JV upon completion will help Sharjah to become the first city to reach the target of 100% diversion of waste from landfill in the Middle East.
Bee'ah chairman Salim Al Owais said: “Together with our strategic partner Masdar, we have set the ambitious goal of making the UAE a beacon for best environmental practices in the Middle East.
“We also intend to set an example to the world for how a country that has traditionally been heavily reliant on fossil fuels can embrace change and become a leader in green technology, through vision, determination and hard work.”
According to Bee'ah and Masdar, the first project of EWEC would draw from the strengths of both companies to show the path for further waste-to-energy facilities in the UAE and the region.
The Sharjah plant would also deliver commercial solutions to handle the problem of solid waste disposal and the ever-increasing demand for clean energy, said the UAE-based partners.
Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi said: "Masdar firmly believes in industry collaboration as the most effective way of advancing the deployment of commercially viable technologies, while supporting the UAE's goals for sustainable economic development.”
Image: Signing of waste supply and power purchase agreements for WTE facility witnessed by HE Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment. Photo: courtesy of PRNewsfoto/Bee’ah.