Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has been busy making developments for the launch of its second nanosatellite for remote sensing purposes in April 2023. DEWA Sat-2 will be sent on its mission on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, US.
DEWA’s commissioning of DEWA Sat-2 is part of its Space-D programme, and the nanosatellite was designed and developed at the facility’s Research and Development Centre, working in tandem with NanoAvionics in Lithuania. It will make use of a high-resolution camera of 4.7 meters that can be used to observe Earth in 7 spectral bands from a 500km orbit. The equipment also incorporates infrared detection tech that can measure greenhouse gas emissions.
With the inclusion of both Nanosatellite technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) platform, DEWA plans to continue improving their plants in terms of operational performance, specifically with features such as seawater temperature and salinity, detection of red tide, fog monitoring, and forecasting. DEWA is the world’s first utility to adopt nanosatellites to cooperate with power and water desalination efforts, something that was already underway thanks to their first nanosatellite launch in January 2022 – DEWA Sat-1. This satellite employs the use of LoRa IoT communication technology for its low-power and extended-range wireless communications on its terrestrial networks.
The aim of DEWA is to better understand and manage their infrastructure projects, such as the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world, by utilizing the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model. AI and satellite imagery can help enhance the efficiency of the solar park, adding significant progress to the modern power grid. DEWA’s use of technology on a high-level is one of the prime examples of how nanosatellites and AI can be employed by major organisations successfully.
DEWA is an efficient, reliable, safe and environmentally responsible means of producing sustainable energy and water, setting an example in environmental responsibility, ground-breaking performance and customer service. DEWA is dedicated to making Dubai carbon-neutral by 2050, moving forward with their goals in the coming years to ensure their targets are met. By using futuristic technologies as part of their long-term strategies and workforce, they put themselves as leaders in not only their sector but also the world.
