Ras Al Khaimah, the UAE’s northernmost emirate, is looking to kick-start its renewables and efficiency programme and is weighing up possible targets of 25 to 30 per cent clean energy in its power mix by 2040.
“We have estimated a potential of about 25 per cent of the total consumption to come from renewables in Ras Al Khaimah towards the end of our strategy, so we’re talking about 15 to 20 years from now,” said Andrea di Gregorio, director of the newly set up energy efficiency and renewables office in the RAK Municipality.
Ras Al Khaimah is a new entrant to the clean energy drive in the region, having set up its renewables and energy efficiency office six months ago.
The UAE, which currently meets 98 per cent of its power generation needs from gas, targets increasing clean energy use by 50 per cent and improving energy efficiency by 40 per cent by the middle of the century, deploying a total capacity of 44 gigawatts from renewable sources by 2050.
While Ras Al Khaimah’s population is about 300,000 and small in comparison with Dubai’s nearly 3 million residents, the UAE’s fourth-largest emirate is home to highly energy-intensive industries, including one of the world’s largest ceramics tile manufacturing facilities as well as a sizeable cement industry.
The industrial sector, which accounted for 40 to 45 per cent of the 5.3 Terrawatt hours (TWh) the emirate consumed last year, will be a main target of its energy management initiatives.
Ras Al Khaimah will arrive at defined renewable and energy efficiency targets “in three to four months,” said Mr di Gregorio.
Among the tentative plans being considered include rolling out the first phase of utility scale solar photovoltaic (PV), five to 10 per cent of the mix by 2025, with the second phase accounting for 10 to 15 per cent by 2030.
The International Renewable Energy Agency, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, estimates solar PV module prices have decreased 80 per cent since 2009. These falling prices have increased their uptake. A report by the US department of energy puts new deployment at 75 GW globally in 2016, with an additional 69GW to 109GW set to be installed by 2020.
Countries in the Middle East have also warmed up to PV deployment. Saudi Arabia is slated to this year tender about 3.25GW of solar PV projects in its inaugural renewables round.
Ras Al Khaimah currently meets its energy requirements entirely through gas sourced from the Dolphin pipeline that delivers 2 billion cubic feet a day of the fuel to the UAE from Qatar’s North Dome field, one of the largest in the world.
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Read more:
Saudi Arabia targets energy efficiencies of 40GW hours in 2018
Ras Al Khaimah launches new oil and gas licensing round
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Earlier this year, the emirate’s gas company said it is launching a licensing round in a bid to diversify sources of the fuel, particularly for industrial use.
Ras Al Khaimah’s aspirations, “which are subject to regulations by the Federal Electricity and Water Authority,” include an initial phase-in of energy savings of about 20 per cent and 15 per cent water savings for new buildings in the emirate, added Mr di Gregorio.
Across the UAE, energy efficiency initiatives have slowly gathered momentum. In 2016, Dubai announced targets for energy savings – 20 per cent by 2020 and 30 per cent by 2030 – and to generate energy savings of 1.7TWh as well as water savings of 5.6 billion imperial gallons in the next 12 years.
While Abu Dhabi has not specified targets, the emirate’s Department of Economic Development announced last year that it had opened accreditation for energy service companies (Escos).
The Ras Al Khaimah municipality’s renewable and energy efficiency office currently acts as the emirate’s Super Esco and has begun the process of accreditation with five Escos already registered, said Mr di Gregorio.
The emirate also plans to pilot a retrofit of public buildings to become more energy efficient and is considering waste-to-energy, solar heating programmes as well as deploying electric vehicles and charging stations as part of its initiatives.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Yabi%20by%20Souqalmal%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMay%202022%2C%20launched%20June%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAmbareen%20Musa%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20u%3C%2Fstrong%3Endisclosed%20but%20soon%20to%20be%20announced%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E12%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eseed%C2%A0%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EShuaa%20Capital%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
Small%20Things%20Like%20These
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Tim%20Mielants%3Cbr%3ECast%3A%20Cillian%20Murphy%2C%20Emily%20Watson%2C%20Eileen%20Walsh%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
ENGLAND TEAM
England (15-1)
George Furbank; Jonny May, Manu Tuilagi, Owen Farrell (capt), Elliot Daly; George Ford, Ben Youngs; Tom Curry, Sam Underhill, Courtney Lawes; Charlie Ewels, Maro Itoje; Kyle Sinckler, Jamie George, Joe Marler
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, George Kruis, Lewis Ludlam, Willi Heinz, Ollie Devoto, Jonathan Joseph
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Williams at Wimbledon
Venus Williams - 5 titles (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008)
Serena Williams - 7 titles (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016)
What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
