Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates

تحت رعاية صاحب السمو الشيخ محمد بن زايد آل نهيان، رئيس دولة الامارات العربية المتحدة

Supported by

Dr. Jauad El Kharraz

Executive Director

Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE)

Jauad
Jauad

Dr. Jauad El Kharraz is the Executive Director of the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE), an intergovernmental organization with diplomatic status based in Cairo with 17 Arab countries onboard. Dr. El Kharraz took is bringing over 23 years of experience in various sustainable energy fields including energy policies, wind and solar technologies, and green hydrogen in addition to water management, desalination, water-energy-food nexus, climate change, and environment. Prior to joining RCREEE, Dr. El Kharraz has been senior consultant for several prestigious institutions and programs, and he held the position of Director of Research at the Middle East Desalination Research Center in Oman (2015-2020). He served as a senior expert, advisor, and evaluator for several international institutions (e.g., European Commission, UN-ESCWA, PRIMA Foundation, EU-GCC Clean Energy Technology Network,” , etc.) and he is member of board of the European Desalination Society, AgreeMed and WEFE4Med Nexus projects. He is also member of the International Desalination Association, the Mediterranean Water Institute, Oman Energy Majlis, and Oman Water Society.

Dr. El Kharraz sustainability career officially started in 1998 as a researcher at the Global Change Unit -University of Valencia and projects manager later at the Euro-Mediterranean Water Information System, France (2004-2015). Through his journey, he coordinated, prepared, and contributed to an important portfolio of international programs/projects of millions of euros such as FP5-FP7, H2020, ENPI CBC Med, INCO MED, INCO NGOs, SMAP, LIFE, PRIMA. He carried out projects for national and international donors such as GIZ, SIDA, IsDB, TRC/Oman and USAID apart from private sector companies.

He chaired and contributed to the development of an important number of scientific papers, policy briefs, policies, training & mentorship activities, lectures, awards ceremonies, and events (e.g., World Economic Forum, World Water Forum, World Science Forum, World Urban Forum, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, MENA Europe Future Energy Dialogue, World Hydrogen Summit, Planetary Security Initiative, Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue Conference, International Higher Education Conference, COP26, COP27, etc.) in more than 60 countries. Dr. El Kharraz is a national of Morocco and France, and a graduate of the University of Abdelmalek Essaadi. Dr. El Kharraz obtained his MSc and PhD degrees in Physics from the Department of Earth Physics and Thermodynamics, University of Valencia, Spain, and a diploma in enterprises management and strategies from SKEMA Business School, France. He is a fluent French, Arabic, Spanish and English speaker.

Session Overview
Tuesday, 5 November
10:00
Decarbonisation Conference Decarbonisation Theatre 10:00 - 11:00
Investing in reliable grid infrastructure to deliver renewable capacity and energy efficiency commitments

Tripling renewable capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030 is seen as critical to achieving a sustainable and low-carbon energy future. However, this initiative faces a unique set of challenges for each goal, including the lack of investment in the grid infrastructure needed to deliver renewable energy from generation sources to end-users, as well as driving operational excellence through the adoption of efficient electric technologies like heat pumps, EVs, etc. While long-term operational costs are lower compared to traditional fuels, the initial investment can be a barrier for investors as can long ROI windows. Collaboration across all stakeholder groups including utilities, grid technology vendors, investors and others will be needed to de-risk investment and deliver a reliable grid infrastructure that will enable increased renewable capacity and energy efficiency.

Attendee insights:

Understand the significant role of investment in establishing a modernised, reliable grid infrastructure to enable renewable energy capacity.

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