A groundbreaking UAE green energy scheme has generated enough power to supply 2,000 homes, using household rubbish and industrial waste, in its first year in operation.
The Sharjah Waste to Energy plant, the first such project in the region, offset 150,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.
It processed more than 100,000 tonnes of waste — equivalent to that produced by 180,000 people — which was diverted from landfill and turned into clean energy. About 250 tonnes of metal were recovered during the same period.
The plant is the first initiative under Emirates Waste to Energy, a joint venture involving Beeah Energy and Masdar.
About 60 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the Emirates come from waste decomposing in landfills, Beeah said on Sunday.
Sharjah sent only 10 per cent of its waste to landfill since the plant's launch, down about 25 per cent compared to previous periods, a significant step forward in its ambition to become the Middle East’s first zero-waste city.
“The Sharjah Waste to Energy plant is an example of successful collaboration towards the UAE’s sustainability agenda,” said Khaled Al Huraimel, group chief executive of Beehah.
“In partnership with Masdar, we have pioneered a waste-to-energy innovation that adds to the national clean energy mix, while also accelerating towards our zero-waste to landfill targets in Sharjah.
“We have also achieved 90 per cent landfill waste diversion, a record for the Middle East, which highlights the positive impact energy innovations can have for sustainable waste management.
“The Sharjah Waste to Energy plant demonstrates how clean energy can not only help meet energy demand, but also recover valuable material and tackle the mounting challenge of waste in growing cities across the Middle East.”
Plant can drive eco goals
The plant is expanding operations to produce 30 megawatts of power annually, while it aims to eventually process 300,000 tonnes of waste per year that would otherwise be destined for landfill.
It will displace almost 450,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year and preserve the equivalent of 45 million cubic metres of natural gas.
Mohamed Al Ramahi, chief executive of Masdar, hailed the progress of the energy plant.
“Achieving the landmark of 100,000 tonnes of waste processed within the first year of operation is a fantastic milestone on our journey towards pioneering worldwide efforts towards decarbonisation,” he said.
“Utilising the latest innovative technologies, the plant has played a leading role in Sharjah’s 90 per cent landfill waste diversion success and in supporting the UAE’s goal of diverting 75 per cent of solid waste from landfills.
UAE steps up climate fight
The UAE's wider net-zero strategy involves Dh600 billion ($163bn) being invested in clean and renewable energy sources in the next three decades across the country.
Last year, Abu Dhabi also revealed plans to ensure that no waste is sent to landfill after 2071.
The UAE is prioritising clean energy and the fight against climate change as it prepares to host the Cop28 global environmental summit at Expo City Dubai later this year.
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, President-designate of Cop28, has spoken of the need for the international community to turn talk into action to protect the planet.
Dr Al Jaber, who is also UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said he is optimistic that foundations for success will be laid at Cop28.
“There is no shortage of ideas or consensus on what needs to be done. What’s missing is getting it done,” he said.
“I believe that the collective will and convening power in this room can make the necessary progress by Cop28 in November, lay the foundation for a successful climate summit and restore trust in the multilateral system.
“Our planet and our people, and especially the most vulnerable, are depending on it.”
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
HERO%20CUP%20TEAMS
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MATCH INFO
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
A%20MAN%20FROM%20MOTIHARI
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdullah%20Khan%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPenguin%20Random%20House%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E304%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
PULITZER PRIZE 2020 WINNERS
JOURNALISM
Public Service
Anchorage Daily News in collaboration with ProPublica
Breaking News Reporting
Staff of The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.
Investigative Reporting
Brian M. Rosenthal of The New York Times
Explanatory Reporting
Staff of The Washington Post
Local Reporting
Staff of The Baltimore Sun
National Reporting
T. Christian Miller, Megan Rose and Robert Faturechi of ProPublica
and
Dominic Gates, Steve Miletich, Mike Baker and Lewis Kamb of The Seattle Times
International Reporting
Staff of The New York Times
Feature Writing
Ben Taub of The New Yorker
Commentary
Nikole Hannah-Jones of The New York Times
Criticism
Christopher Knight of the Los Angeles Times
Editorial Writing
Jeffery Gerritt of the Palestine (Tx.) Herald-Press
Editorial Cartooning
Barry Blitt, contributor, The New Yorker
Breaking News Photography
Photography Staff of Reuters
Feature Photography
Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin of the Associated Press
Audio Reporting
Staff of This American Life with Molly O’Toole of the Los Angeles Times and Emily Green, freelancer, Vice News for “The Out Crowd”
LETTERS AND DRAMA
Fiction
"The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday)
Drama
"A Strange Loop" by Michael R. Jackson
History
"Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America" by W. Caleb McDaniel (Oxford University Press)
Biography
"Sontag: Her Life and Work" by Benjamin Moser (Ecco/HarperCollins)
Poetry
"The Tradition" by Jericho Brown (Copper Canyon Press)
General Nonfiction
"The Undying: Pain, Vulnerability, Mortality, Medicine, Art, Time, Dreams, Data, Exhaustion, Cancer, and Care" by Anne Boyer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
and
"The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America" by Greg Grandin (Metropolitan Books)
Music
"The Central Park Five" by Anthony Davis, premiered by Long Beach Opera on June 15, 2019
Special Citation
Ida B. Wells
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
How to help
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