According to Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of the DFM-listed utility, over the past ten years, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has drastically lowered the cost of solar power by 85% and doubled efficiency. Al Tayer discussed these accomplishments in his opening speech at the Dubai-hosted World Government Summit in 2024.

Over the past ten years, DEWA's solar energy programs have seen a dramatic decrease in cost—from 11 cents per kWh to just 1.69 cents—as well as an increase in efficiency—from 11% to over 24%. DEWA began its solar energy venture in 2013 when the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park's first phase, with a 13 megawatt (MW) capacity, was opened. The solar park has 2,627MW of installed capacity as of December 31, 2023.

Al-Tayer further highlighted DEWA's dedication to green initiatives, including the pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant in Hatta and the solar park's green hydrogen generation endeavor. Remarkably, the utility recently stopped launching new projects involving fossil fuels and restricted new water desalination projects to the usage of clean energy via reverse osmosis technology.

Significantly, the Hassyan Phase 1 Independent Water Producer (IWP) project by DEWA, which has invested more than 3.3 billion UAE dirhams, is expected to have a capacity of 180 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD), making it the largest solar-powered desalination plant in the world.