The Sharjah Waste-to-Energy Plant has successfully processed one million tons since its opening

Sharjah, 9 April / WAM / The Sharjah Waste-to-Energy Plant has succeeded in treating one million tons of waste since its opening, a step that reflects a qualitative achievement in the Emirate of Sharjah’s ambitious endeavor to completely divert waste away from landfills, in a way that supports the goals of the UAE’s energy strategy, which has a promising future vision for achieving climate neutrality.

In light of the announcement of the second phase of the project, the Sharjah Waste-to-Energy Plant continues to produce 30 megawatts of low-carbon electricity to be integrated into the public electricity network in Sharjah, while contributing to avoiding the equivalent of 450,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually by diverting waste away from landfills.

The Emirates Waste-to-Energy Company is a joint venture between Bee’ah and Tadweer Group. It has launched its pioneering project to establish the Sharjah Waste-to-Energy Plant in 2022, making it today the first commercial waste-to-energy plant of its kind in the region.

This station forms part of the circular economy system in Sharjah and played a pivotal role in enabling the emirate to divert waste away from landfills by 93% in support of integrated recycling operations within facilities equipped with the latest equipment in the “Be’ah” Integrated Waste Management Complex in the Saja’a area.

The Sharjah Waste-to-Energy Station succeeded in converting huge amounts of waste equivalent to the weight of two towers similar to the Burj Khalifa away from landfills, after treating 100,000 tons of waste in the first year of its operation, reaching this notable achievement today. Upon completion of the second phase of the project, the positive impact of the station will be doubled, through the establishment of a second identical station near it.

The new station will contribute to achieving significant increases in energy production from 30 to 60 megawatts, and the waste subject to treatment will increase annually from 300,000 tons to 600,000 tons, in addition to avoiding carbon dioxide emissions from 450,000 to nearly one million tons, and supplying energy to homes from 28,000 to nearly 60,000 homes.

The Sharjah Waste-to-Energy Plant will continue its fruitful cooperation with the Sharjah Electricity, Water and Gas Authority to facilitate effective integration with the public network and continue to contribute to enhancing the rapidly growing clean energy portfolio in the UAE.

Converting waste into energy is one of the most prominent alternative solutions on which the UAE’s strategy to diversify energy sources is based, which since 2017 has laid the basic foundations for tripling the volume of renewable energy at the national level. Clean energy produced from waste contributes to meeting the growing demand for energy in sustainable ways, supporting the UAE’s efforts to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

The Sharjah Waste-to-Energy Plant project plays a pivotal role in supporting the objectives of this strategy, along with other pioneering projects in the field of renewable and nuclear energy, such as the Dubai Waste-to-Energy Plant Project, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, and the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plants.

Hamza Al Jafri, CEO of the Emirates Waste-to-Energy Company, said: “This qualitative achievement of converting one million tons of waste into energy confirms the effectiveness of our business model and its ability to reduce dependence on landfills and meet local needs related to clean energy. Through the second phase of the pioneering project, we aspire to enhance the impact of our business and increase the production of clean energy while continuing to focus on providing effective solutions for managing waste that is difficult to recycle. The Emirates Waste-to-Energy Company confirms its firm commitment to supporting national and local sustainability goals through innovation.” In the field of energy and operational excellence.

The Sharjah Waste-to-Energy Plant, by converting non-recyclable waste into clean energy, contributes to finding an effective solution to the challenge of the high rate of per capita production of municipal solid waste in the UAE, and based on its increasing cost, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment seeks to address this challenge radically through initiatives that contribute to highlighting the remarkable economic value of waste management.

For his part, Fahd Ali Shuhail, CEO – Sustainability at Bee’ah, said: “We at Bee’ah, through the Sharjah Waste-to-Energy Plant, are keen to provide innovative solutions that contribute to diverting waste in Sharjah away from landfills almost completely. This notable achievement reflects the vision of our wise leadership and the importance of our fruitful strategic partnerships, while the second phase of the project will contribute to significantly enhancing the positive impact of our operations, supporting the UAE’s efforts towards transitioning to a sustainable economy based on clean energy and achieving sustainable environmental value.” For future cities in the region.

The Sharjah Waste-to-Energy Plant is located near Bee’ah’s integrated waste management complex, which includes 12 integrated waste treatment facilities, including one of the largest facilities in the world for material recovery and recycling.

Together, these facilities receive different types of municipal and commercial waste, where recyclable materials are processed with the aim of reintroducing them into the circular economy system and producing alternative materials and fuels. As for the waste that is difficult to recycle, it is sent to the Sharjah waste-to-energy station, where it is subjected to heat treatment, which produces high heat that is collected inside a high-temperature heater to produce high-pressure steam that contributes to the operation of the turbine generator. Thus, this station produces low-carbon electricity while treating flue gas and bottom ash in line with the best practices. Technologies approved in the European Union. The wasted heat is then collected and the steam is condensed for recycling, which contributes to providing an integrated and effective system for converting waste into energy.

It is noteworthy that in 2025, the Tadweer Group acquired Masdar’s stake in the Sharjah Waste-to-Energy Plant, thus becoming a partner in this project.

Based on the great success achieved by the Sharjah Waste-to-Energy Plant and the expansion plan, the Emirates Waste-to-Energy Company aspires to implement more clean energy projects in the UAE and the region with the aim of continuing steady progress towards a sustainable future based on reducing carbon emissions.

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