UAE energy diversification: Is important to avoid power interruption? . . . . . . . . . . . . Although the United Arab Emirates is a major oil and gas producer, it is not immune of any interruption of electricity and water supplies on the back of a natural disaster or due to the rising demand on energy as population grows. Over the recent couple of years, the demand on energy has increased significantly with the development and invention of technological devices. Demand for electricity in the Gulf Cooperation Council is forecast to more than double by 2030. The demand in the GCC may edge up to 230,000 megawatts over the next two decades, Abdullah al-Shehri, said governor of Saudi Arabia’s Electricity and Co-Generation Regulatory Authority. The population of Dubai is expected to increase over the coming years, especially as it hosts the 2020 EXPO, and as the UAE in general remains a safe haven country amid the political upheavals in the MENA region. This means higher consumption of electricity and water. During the period between 2008 and 2012, national power demand soared 37 percent. Abu Dhabi increased its power-generating capacity by 43.6 percent and Dubai boosted capacity 44.5 percent, noting that the UAE’s energy demand is growing nearly by 9 percent a year. Given the very hot weather in the UAE, the interruption of air conditions, the internet and other devices for a few hours mean a total cripple to businesses and households. By the same manner, the water in this hot weather is energy and any interruption in its supply is a serious problem. The desalinated sea water requires power generation, as it uses the waste heat from gas combustion. It is clear that Dubai succeed in increasing its capacity last year, but still it represents only about two-and-a-half days demand. Power stations in the UAE mainly relies on gas, where a quarter of is imported from Qatar through the Dolphin pipeline. The other source is the liquefied natural gas by Dubai, which most of it is also coming from Qatar. “We are an energy importer,” said Nejib Zaafrani, chief executive officer of the UAE planning body. “There are things we control and things we don’t control, and fuel cost is out of our control.” Energy diversification Natural gas represents 99 percent of Abu Dhabi’s power generation mix, where the gas generates about 90 percent of Dubai’s electricity. The UAE is planning to diversify its energy mix with the goal of generating 24 percent of its total power generation by clean coal and solar energy projects by 2020 and from nuclear plants by 2030. “We continue to draw a clear strategy in energy, and we believe our economy is based on diversification,” the UAE Minister of Energy Suhail Al Mazrouei said Dubai is looking forward to generating 70 percent of its power capacity from natural gas and the rest from coal, renewable energy and nuclear energy. Dubai has approved a resolution that endorses the diversification of energy sources. Now, buildings and homes can generate electricity using solar energy through the electricity grid. While the solar power capacity in Abu Dhabi and Dubai meanwhile is very small, in the future the capacity could reach up to 10 to 20 percent. The UAE`s first nuclear power plant at Barakah, 300 km west of Abu Dhabi, is scheduled to finish unit by 2017, while will begin unit 4 in 2015 and completes it in 2020, according to Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC). The four reactors would provide about 25 percent of the country’s electricity needs. Finally, recycling “grey” water could be on the options as it uses less energy than desalinated sea water. #egyptyard
Posted on: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 13:18:37 +0000
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