Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), discussed future cooperation opportunities with Elon Musk, Founder and CEO of Tesla, the American company specialised in electric vehicles and energy storage.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the second day of the World Government Summit 2017.

Al Tayer discussed ways to enhance collaboration and exchange experiences with Tesla in renewable and clean energy, environmental sustainability and innovation. Al Tayer briefed the delegation on DEWA’s most prominent developmental projects and strategic initiatives, aiming to achieve Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai a global centre of clean energy and green economy by providing 7 percent of Dubai total energy output from clean resources by 2020, 25 percent by 2030 and 75 percent by 2050.

Al Tayer highlighted the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar project in the world, with total capacity of 5,000 megawatts by 2030, and total investments worth AED 50 billion, in addition to the smart grid programmes and plans worth AED 7 billion covering generation, transmission and distribution systems, through 11 programmes to be completed by 2020, contributing to enhancing demand side management, energy efficiency and operational processes.

Al Tayer also highlighted the Shams Dubai initiative that DEWA launched in March 2014 as part of its efforts to achieve the Smart Dubai initiative to make Dubai the smartest city in the world.

Musk praised DEWA’s efforts, and emphasised his interest in sharing information and exchanging experiences to contribute towards Dubai’s sustainable growth.