EWEC meets 80% of Abu Dhabi power demand with renewable sources for first time

Image: WAM

Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), has achieved a new milestone in its delivery of renewable and clean energy. For the first time, EWEC met 80 per cent of total power demand for Abu Dhabi using renewable and clean energy from its solar and nuclear energy plants, supplying approximately 6.2 gigawatts (GW) of the total 7.7GW system power demand.

The milestone reflects the realisation of the UAE’s goal of transitioning its energy mix to clean energy sources.

EWEC is accelerating the implementation of Abu Dhabi’s energy transition to reduce the reliance on hydrocarbons and decouple water production from power generation. This is being done through investments and development of utility-scale solar power and low-carbon intensive reverse osmosis (RO) water desalination projects.

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Renewable energy to power UAE

By 2030, EWEC aims to raise Abu Dhabi’s solar power generation to approximately 7GW and produce more than 90 per cent of its water using RO plants. EWEC is working to support the realisation of Abu Dhabi’s Clean Energy Strategic Targets 2035 and UAE Water Security Strategy 2036.

Othman Al Ali, chief executive officer of EWEC, said, “EWEC is very proud to have successfully delivered such a high proportion of power demand from renewable and clean energy. Having supplied 60 per cent of total power demand in December 2022 using renewable and clean sources, now meeting 80 per cent in February 2023 is indicative of our at-pace deployment of sustainable energy and an example to the world of the UAE’s strategic net-zero ambitions in action in advance of COP28.

The delivery of renewable and clean energy was enabled by solar power generation connected to the grid, which includes power from Shams CSP, Noor Abu Dhabi, in addition to power from the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant. Al Ali added, “Growth in our diverse portfolio of world-leading utility-scale renewable projects will play an integral role in accelerating the country’s energy transition and decarbonisation of the energy sector. We look forward to continued collaboration with our project partners as we pursue the advancement of a sustainable, efficient water and power supply in Abu Dhabi and across the UAE.”

Easa Alzarooni, system operations executive director at EWEC, said, “EWEC is forging ahead in 2023, the ‘Year of Sustainability’, with yet another key achievement by meeting over 80 per cent of total power demand from solar and nuclear energy sources. This was enabled by the flexibility of system operations, coordinating with other control centres across the UAE to provide integrated, sophisticated real-time applications, and advanced analytical capabilities and operational planning to balance supply demand with our sustainability goals.”

EWEC’s current and future renewable energy projects, combined with Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, are forecast to reduce carbon emissions by 50 per cent, from more than 40 million tonnes in 2020, to approximately 20 million tonnes by 2025.