Today's Edition
MAYS IBRAHIM (ABU DHABI)
The UAE is rapidly transforming its energy landscape by investing heavily in a diversified mix of clean and renewable power sources.
From solar parks to nuclear plants and innovative hydrogen and waste-to-energy projects, the Gulf nation is positioning itself as a global leader in sustainable energy.
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai currently produces 3,860 megawatts (MW) of electricity.
When complete, its capacity is expected to reach 7,260 MW by 2030, exceeding the original target of 5,000 MW.
The project is expected to provide power to nearly 2 million homes and reduce more than 8 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year.
In Abu Dhabi, the Noor Abu Dhabi Solar Plant — the world’s largest single-site solar facility — generates 1.177 GW of electricity from 3.2 million panels, enough to power tens of thousands of homes while drastically reducing carbon emissions.
Another major project, the Al Dhafra PV2 Solar Project, will add 2 GW to the emirate’s grid by 2025.
Masdar City contributes to this diversification push with its 10 MW solar photovoltaic plant, producing around 17,500 megawatt-hours annually, offsetting 15,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year.
A groundbreaking development is Masdar’s recently unveiled 24/7 Solar and Battery Storage Project.
This $6 billion facility features a 5.2 GW solar photovoltaic plant coupled with a 19 gigawatt-hour (GWh) battery energy storage system (BESS), setting a global benchmark in clean energy innovation.
Scheduled to be operational by 2027, it aims to deliver up to 1 GW of baseload renewable power every day, effectively overcoming the challenge of solar intermittency.
The project is expected to create over 10,000 jobs and avoid approximately 5.7 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
The UAE is also betting on hydrogen to drive decarbonisation.
The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) launched its Green Hydrogen project in 2021, marking the first industrial-scale, solar-powered green hydrogen facility in the Middle East and North Africa.
The UAE’s National Hydrogen Strategy envisions 1.4 million tonnes of hydrogen production per year by 2031, climbing to 14.9 million tonnes by 2050.
Abu Dhabi is advancing hydrogen through the Abu Dhabi Hydrogen Alliance, a partnership between ADNOC, Mubadala, and ADQ, developing large-scale blue and green hydrogen projects leveraging existing gas infrastructure.
At launch in 2021, the partners consolidated their renewable energy portfolios under Masdar, totalling over 23 gigawatts (GW), with plans to expand to more than 50 GW by 2030.
The initiative focuses on large-scale projects for utilities, industry, and mobility, supplying both domestic needs and international markets, while supporting the UAE’s target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The UAE is also turning its waste into energy.
Facilities like Dubai’s Waste Management Centre and Sharjah’s Waste-to-Energy plant aim to process millions of tonnes of municipal waste annually, generating hundreds of megawatts of electricity.
These projects not only reduce landfill use but also contribute to the UAE’s overall renewable energy output, proving that sustainability and practicality can go hand in hand.
Abu Dhabi is exploring similar solutions through Masdar-led waste-to-energy initiatives, integrating waste management with renewable energy production.
Nuclear energy is also central to the UAE’s low-carbon energy mix. The Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in Abu Dhabi now operates four reactors with a combined capacity of 5.6 gigawatts (GW), with the fourth unit having entered commercial operation in March 2024.
The facility contributes significantly to the UAE’s electricity supply while adhering to international safety and non-proliferation standards.
