Today's Edition
MAYS IBRAHIM (ABU DHABI)
Masdar is expanding its renewable energy portfolio and battery storage capacity to meet the UAE's growing electricity demand, as energy-intensive industries drive the need for a more reliable power supply.
The company currently operates around 2.85 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity in the UAE, with a pipeline of more than 12GW under development, Abdulla AlKayoumi, managing director of MSTS at Masdar, told Aletihad during ADIPEC.
Its operational projects include the Al Dhafra solar plant and Phase 3 of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which, alongside other projects, supply power to more than 400,000 homes across the country, he said.
As electricity demand grows, Masdar is looking beyond generation capacity to ensure renewable power can be delivered when it is needed. AlKayoumi said investment in battery storage would be essential to balancing the grid and making solar-generated electricity available around the clock.
“Storage changes the question from 'what does it cost to generate power?' to 'what does it cost to deliver power when it is needed?',” he said.
Masdar's 5.2GW solar and 19 gigawatt-hour (GWh) battery storage project in Abu Dhabi is designed to deliver 1GW of continuous clean electricity, day and night.
AlKayoumi said the project would help meet the electricity requirements of industries increasingly reliant on uninterrupted power, including artificial intelligence, cloud computing and data centres.
“AI and advanced technology companies and hyperscalers are investing here because of the stable investment environment, long-term planning and access to reliable, competitively priced power,” he said.
The company is also looking to replicate the solar-plus-storage model in international markets, with similar developments under way in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.
The Abu Dhabi project is intended to serve as a blueprint for developments in other markets, he added.
However, scaling up renewable energy requires more than developing new generation projects. AlKayoumi said grid infrastructure, storage capacity and renewable generation must expand in parallel to ensure electricity can be delivered where and when it is needed.
This will require expanding grid capacity, scaling cost-effective storage and integrating new technologies into existing energy systems.
Land requirements and supply chain pressures will also need to be considered, he said.
Masdar is addressing these challenges through investment in new technologies and partnerships with energy offtakers and equipment manufacturers, AlKayoumi said.
Looking ahead to 2030, he expects renewables to become an increasingly important part of the UAE's diversified energy mix, strengthening energy security while supporting the country's Net Zero by 2050 target.
Masdar has spent the past 20 years developing renewable energy projects in the UAE and international markets, from utility-scale solar parks to wind farms designed to generate electricity in low-wind conditions, he said.
