Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Energy Exemplar, a global optimisation-based market simulation software provider for the energy and water sectors.

The parties will explore opportunities to expand EWEC's advanced modelling capacity and bring Energy Exemplar's state-of-the-art, cloud-based platform modelling capabilities to the Middle East.

The MoU was signed by Othman Al Ali, Chief Executive Officer of EWEC, and David Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of Energy Exemplar, in the presence of representatives from both organisations.

Al Ali said that forecasting and modelling the impact of such rapid decarbonisation is crucial to achieving Abu Dhabi and the UAE's sustainability and net-zero goals.

"This partnership with Energy Exemplar will expand our already advanced techno-economic modelling capabilities through the integration of a scalable, cloud-based platform that further strengthens our integrated system planning, particularly when factoring in future-facing energy innovations," he added.

Wilson, in turn, stated, "EWEC has in the last years built an advanced and globally leading modelling capability on our PLEXOS modelling platform. Having EWEC leverage our latest cloud-based technologies will enable them to accelerate the speed of their energy transition plans while simultaneously limiting execution risks. Together, we look forward to supporting the UAE's realisation of a sustainable future."

The agreement will see EWEC and Energy Exemplar deploy a Proof of Concept (PoC), overseen by a joint Technical Steering Team, to demonstrate how EWEC's existing and future modelling requirements can be augmented. Using advanced and unified modelling systems supports EWEC's mission to realise the Abu Dhabi and UAE governments' vision for a sustainable and net zero future.

As a simulation platform, PLEXOS allows users to analyse and predict long- and short-term energy market performances based on the data fed into the system. As a single, unified energy modelling and forecasting platform, PLEXOS analyses zonal and nodal energy models ranging from long-term investment planning to medium-term operational planning and down to short-term, hourly, and intra-hourly market simulations.