Egis will lead an expert webinar to test a claim heard often in the Gulf and examined rather less: that waste-to-energy is green energy. Throughout the 45-minute session, “Waste-to-Energy in the GCC: Where Does the Real Decarbonisation Value Lie?”, the panel will argue that the technology’s strongest climate credentials rest on the electricity it generates, as well as on the landfill methane it prevents. The webinar will be hosted on EfW Net, the global energy-from-waste community platform linked to the EfW Conference and Energy from Waste Middle East.
The distinction carries particular weight in the region. As solar and nuclear capacity expands across the region, the benefit of displacing grid electricity diminishes year on year. Avoided methane is a sturdier argument. Waste is the third-largest source of human-made methane, responsible for nearly 20% of human-caused methane emissions according to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition. Methane traps around 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide over a 20-year horizon. Because plastics in the waste stream contain fossil carbon, the panel will argue that power from waste-to-energy plants has an emissions profile comparable with gas-fired generation.
Presented by Sameer Vhora, Energy Practice Lead for Egis in the Middle East and South Asia, the webinar is pitched at the operators, developers, technology providers, and consultants who understand waste-to-energy technology but are less acquainted with the conditions specific to the region. Three other Egis specialists will join him:
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Irena Relić, Senior Waste Management & Institutional Expert will lead on policy and carbon accounting.
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Zahraa Al-Dawood, Environmental and Waste Management Consultant on technology, feedstock, and outputs.
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Mehmet Volga Süren, Waste and Water Management Expert, will discuss delivery and risk, including how PPP structures allocate waste-supply, offtake, and change-in-law risk.
The debate arrives as the GCC commits serious capital to the sector. Dubai’s waste-to-energy centre in Warsan has the capacity to treat 1.9 million tonnes of waste a year, up to 45% of Dubai’s municipal waste, generating around 200MW. Abu Dhabi signed a concession in 2024 for a plant to process 900,000 tonnes a year, as Tadweer pursues its ambition to divert 80% of Abu Dhabi’s waste from landfill, by 2030; while Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Waste Management (MWAN) is targeting 94% of municipal solid waste from landfill by 2035. As the pipeline grows, each new plant will need a carbon case that bears close examination by lenders, regulators, and the public alike.
The webinar will take place on Thursday, 26 November at 6pm GST on EfW Net. Registration is now open: Waste-to-Energy in the GCC: Where Does the Real Decarbonisation Value Lie?
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