Today's Edition
Mays Ibrahim (ABU DHABI)
Abu Dhabi is committing $250 billion over the next 10 years to expand its power, water and district cooling networks, as the emirate moves to strengthen infrastructure resilience while supporting economic growth.
Department of Energy Chairman Dr Abdulla Humaid Al Jarwan spoke about the investment and its wider impact on the economy at LIVEX Abu Dhabi 2026. “We look at it as the value of the whole is going to be much greater than the sum of the parts,” he explained.
“Because if the infrastructure part is done right, it will have a multiplier impact on the whole economy,” Al Jarwan added. “But remember, it has to be secure, sustainable, and affordable.”
Al Jarwan also highlighted the expansion of clean energy and the diversification of the emirate’s power and water systems. “Just ten years ago, clean and sustainable power was less than 1% of our energy mix in Abu Dhabi. Now the number is 45% in just a decade,” he said.
The increase has come alongside growth in total power production to support communities and new demand across the emirate, including neighbourhoods, hospitals, nurseries, schools and universities, Al Jarwan said.
Abu Dhabi is building an integrated energy system rather than relying on a single source, with diversification helping strengthen security and resilience. “It’s a better security decision when you diversify your energy sources,” he said.
Al Jarwan also pointed to the integration of solar and battery storage into the system as an example of the approach.
The same principle applies to water, he said, with Abu Dhabi drawing on six different sources to support its water system and green spaces. “It’s not all desal water that feeds the greeneries in Abu Dhabi,” Al Jarwan said.
Efficiency is also a key part of the emirate’s approach. Per-capita water consumption in Abu Dhabi has fallen by 15% over the past five years, he said.
“The most cost-competitive way of generating additional capacity that’s sustainable, reliable and affordable is by improving the efficiency of the system in general,” he said.
Over the past decade, the carbon footprint of desalination has fallen by 20%, while its cost has dropped by 15%, according to Al Jarwan.
The emirate is also developing the Abu Dhabi Water and Power Resilience Framework, which focuses on diversifying resources and distributing generation, transmission and delivery assets.
Al Jarwan said the framework was aligned with more than 40 partners from 20 countries in less than three months, with Abu Dhabi targeting 100 partners.
