Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) is conducting its fourth auction for Clean Energy Certificates (CECs) in Abu Dhabi, on 14 June 2022, following three previous successful auctions.
According to EWEC, CECs are tradable digital certificates issued by the Department of Energy (DoE) in units of 1 MWh upon receiving a request from the Single Registrant and are currently the only accredited instruments in Abu Dhabi to prove ownership of the environmental and economic benefits achieved by consuming clean energy.
CECs provide Abu Dhabi entities with an empowering pathway to achieve their desired sustainability goals by guaranteeing the zero-carbon origin of their clean electricity consumption, while also enabling them to further reduce their carbon footprint, the utility provider noted. Additionally, CECs offer entities a global competitive edge by holding internationally recognised certificates that guarantee their green credentials.
Commenting on the success of the scheme, Othman Al Ali, CEO of EWEC said: “The innovative CEC scheme has proven to be a successful initiative in attracting a significant number of Abu Dhabi based entities aiming to play a vital role in supporting the UAE Net Zero by 2050 initiative.
“The success of our three previous CEC auctions encouraged more companies of all sizes to move towards clean energy consumption that aligns with their sustainability strategies and their commitment to tackling climate change. I would like to call on all businesses to reduce their carbon footprint, register for the upcoming fourth auction and take an actionable step in decarbonising their energy consumption.”
EWEC enables implementation of Abu Dhabi’s CEC scheme
EWEC is one of the key parties enabling the implementation of Abu Dhabi’s CECs scheme, acting as Single Registrant and auction operator to establish a primary market for this new instrument. Previous CEC auctions saw the Abu Dhabi-based firm signing strategic clean energy partnerships with entities across the energy, real estate, healthcare, and events sectors.
EWEC’s statement noted that in August 2021, the DoE issued a regulatory policy for the CECs scheme which, for the first time globally, included CECs for power generated from nuclear energy. Major Abu Dhabi-based entities including the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Aldar have purchased these certificates and have signed strategic clean energy partnerships with the firm to guarantee that their electricity consumption is generated from clean energy sources such as solar or nuclear.
Additionally, EWEC’s partnership agreement with ADNOC will see up to 100% of ADNOC’s power grid supplied by its clean energy sources, while its partnership will Aldar Properties will see it powering 100% of Aldar-owned and managed operating assets by EWEC’s clean energy sources for up to five years.
