The Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DOE) has outlined nine initiatives to help accelerate the UAE's sustainable economic growth while supporting the country's Net Zero By 2050 strategic initiative.
The projects were outlined during the UN's Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow, where world leaders are meeting with the aim of reducing global warming.
It is predicted electricity generation by 2025 will be 7 per cent produced from solar PV sources and 47 per cent from nuclear
Awaidha Al Marar,
Abu Dhabi Department of Energy
Earlier this week, the UAE announced its intention to reach net zero carbon by 2050 – the first country in the Gulf to make this commitment.
The Dh600 billion ($163.3bn) pledge was hailed by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres as “ambitious” and “important".
The nine existing and planned projects have the combined potential of reducing emissions associated with power generation and water production by at least 50 per cent in the next 10 years.
This would drive total emission reductions of more than 29 million tonnes per year by 2030.
The UAE initiatives include:
- Noor Abu Dhabi solar PV plant projected to avoid up to 1 million tonne of CO2 emissions per year
- Barakah nuclear power plant to avoid 21 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year
- Al Dhafra 2GW single site solar PV plant which could reduce 2.4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions
- Two additional solar projects with a combined capacity of 2GW and potential to avoid 2.6 million tonnes of CO2 emissions
- Two waste-to-energy plants in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain expected to help reduce 2.4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Awaidha Al Marar, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, said Abu Dhabi was committed to leading the transition to renewable and clean energy.
“Building on a 15-year track record of climate innovation and on the UAE’s enduring support for the [2015] Paris Climate Agreement, our commitment is underpinned by a strategic shift to low-carbon technologies with large-scale investment in solar and nuclear energy to drive down emissions,” said Mr Al Marar.
“For instance, Abu Dhabi has developed a world-class sustainability investment vehicle through the launch of Masdar City in 2008 as one of the world’s first carbon-neutral developments.
"Since then, we’ve taken the lead regionally in deploying renewable energy.”
The transition to renewables
The emission-reducing policies include clean energy generation from solar and nuclear sources and the electrification of the water production system through reverse osmosis (RO) technology.
Mr Al Marar said energy production in Abu Dhabi has already pivoted towards renewables.
“Our 1.2-gigawatt Noor Abu Dhabi solar PV plant has increased the share of renewables in our energy mix to 6 per cent of the emirate’s total installed capacity in 2021 and the launch of the first reactor of the Barakah nuclear energy plant in 2020 has also increased the share of carbon-free energy production in the emirate’s energy mix to 7 per cent in 2021,” he said.
Once Abu Dhabi’s 2GW Al Dhafra solar PV project in completed in 2023 and the Barakah plant is working at full power, the total clean power generation capacity in the emirate will reach 8.8GW in 2025.
This will increase the share of clean energy capacity in the energy mix to 31 per cent by 2025, from 13 per cent in 2021.
“With these solar and nuclear projects, it is predicted electricity generation by 2025 will be 7 per cent produced from solar PV sources and 47 per cent from nuclear,” Mr Al Marar said.
“This means 55 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s electricity in 2025 will be generated from clean sources and is expected to cut power generation emissions from 40 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2020 to approximately 20 million tonnes in 2025,” he added.
Water production
The production of water in the UAE creates high emissions, so Abu Dhabi is introducing reverse osmosis (RO) systems to help decarbonise the water sector. RO systems use relatively less energy compared to distillation.
Mr Al Marar said DOE intends increase the amount of water produced via reverse osmosis from 24 per cent now, to 43 per cent by 2025, thanks in part to the Al Taweelah facility coming on stream.
This has the potential to avoid 1.2 million CO2 emissions per year.
Further projects are also expected to be introduced through 2030 with the aim of increasing the share of RO in Abu Dhabi’s total water production to 80 per cent, reducing 4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
The DoE also intends to improve energy efficiency in its systems.
The Abu Dhabi Demand Side Management and Energy Rationalisation Strategy aims to reduce electricity consumption by 22 per cent and water consumption by 32 per cent by 2030.
If this is implemented, it will avoid the emission of more than 9 million tonnes of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere – the equivalent of removing 1.5 million vehicles from the road for an entire year.
Solar power plant opens in Abu Dhabi
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Qosty Byogaani
Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny
Four stars
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Five healthy carbs and how to eat them
Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand
Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat
Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar
Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices
Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants
Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique
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Quick%20facts
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ASHES SCHEDULE
First Test
November 23-27 (The Gabba, Brisbane)
Second Test
December 2-6 (Adelaide Oval, Adelaide)
Third Test
December 14-18 (Waca Ground, Perth)
Fourth Test
December 26-30 (Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne)
Fifth Test
January 4-8, 2018 (Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney)
Poacher
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Fixtures:
Thursday:
Hatta v Al Jazira, 4.55pm
Al Wasl v Dibba, 7.45pm
Friday:
Al Dhafra v Al Nasr, 5.05pm
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai v Al Wahda, 7.45pm
Saturday:
Ajman v Emirates, 4.55pm
Al Ain v Sharjah, 7.45pm
MEYDAN%20RACECARD
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E6pm%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EArabian%20Adventures%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(TB)%20Dh82%2C500%20(Dirt)%201%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E6.35pm%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEmirates%20Sky%20Cargo%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%2087%2C500%20(D)%202%2C000m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E7.10pm%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEmirates%20Holiday%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(TB)%20Dh82%2C500%20(D)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E7.45pm%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEmirates%20Skywards%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh87%2C500%20(D)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E8.20pm%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Emirates%20Airline%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh105%2C000%20(D)%201%2C600m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E8.55pm%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEmirates%20Airline%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh105%2C000%20(D)%201%2C900m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E9.30pm%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEmirates.com%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB_%20Dh87%2C500%20(D)%201%2C200m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Schedule for Asia Cup
Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)
Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)
Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four
Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)
Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 28: Final (Dubai)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
Squads
Australia: Finch (c), Agar, Behrendorff, Carey, Coulter-Nile, Lynn, McDermott, Maxwell, Short, Stanlake, Stoinis, Tye, Zampa
India: Kohli (c), Khaleel, Bumrah, Chahal, Dhawan, Shreyas, Karthik, Kuldeep, Bhuvneshwar, Pandey, Krunal, Pant, Rahul, Sundar, Umesh
