ABU DHABI - Awaidha Murshed Al Marar, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, DoE, outlined how Abu Dhabi’s energy transformation has dramatically changed the emirate’s energy profile over the past few years, during his keynote address today at the Singapore Energy Summit held as part of the Singapore International Energy Week.

Outlining Abu Dhabi’s progressive economic vision for the post-oil era, he said, "With energy use in Abu Dhabi having more than doubled over the past decade and projected to increase by 1.4 percent each year until 2035 due to the rise in population and economic growth, we recognised the need to transition our energy system towards a sustainable future and to enhance energy efficiency and rationalise consumption. Our approach is outlined in the UAE Energy Strategy 2050, the country’s first unified energy strategy based on supply and demand." Launched in 2017, the strategy aims to increase the contribution of clean energy in the total energy mix to 50 percent by 2050, reduce the carbon footprint of power generation by 70 percent and increase consumption efficiency by 40 percent.

The DoE Chairman said, "The Barakah Nuclear Plant is expected to bring 5.6 GW of clean energy to the Abu Dhabi power mix and offset more than 21 million tonnes of greenhouse emissions per year when fully operational. Abu Dhabi’s flagship Noor Abu Dhabi Solar PV Plant alone has delivered some 2.6 percent of the emirate’s energy requirements." "We also introduced the Virtual Battery Plant in January 2019, the world’s largest grid-scale advanced battery energy storage facility with 108MW Sodium Sulphur batteries with over six hours of energy storage capacity in 10 different locations in Abu Dhabi," he added.

Another strategic priority for Abu Dhabi is water security. The UAE Water Security Strategy 2036 aims to reduce the total demand for water resources by 21 percent, increase the reuse of treated water to 95 percent and increase the national water storage capacity up to two days.

"Just last year, Abu Dhabi unveiled a bid for a mega water desalination project at the Taweela power and water complex with an RO capacity of 200 million imperial gallons a day. This project would raise Abu Dhabi’s desalinated water by RO from 13 percent in 2018 to 30 percent in 2022. Also, in January 2018, Abu Dhabi completed the construction of the Liwa aquifer, the world’s largest reserve of 26 Mm3 of high-quality desalinated water," Al Marar said.

Concluding his speech, he highlighted the vast investment opportunities that Abu Dhabi and the UAE have to offer and encouraged all the stakeholders in Singapore to explore and benefit from them.

© Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2019.