Top 10 power generation projects in the UAE

From ground-breaking solar and wind projects to nuclear energy advancements and carbon capture initiatives, these projects reflect the UAE’s ambitious strides towards a more sustainable and environmentally conscious future.

Al Dhafra Solar PV project in Abu Dhabi (Developed by – Masdar)

Co-developers – Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, French power company EDF Renewables and Chinese solar developer JinkoPower

The 2GW solar project is touted to be the ‘world’s-largest’. The plant will deploy approximately 4 million solar panels using the latest in crystalline, bifacial solar technology, which will enable the plant to provide more efficient electricity by capturing solar irradiation from both the front and backside of the panel.

Located 35 kilometres from Abu Dhabi city, the plant aims to reduce the emirate’s carbon emissions by more than 2.4 million metric tonnes annually, equivalent to removing some 470,000 cars from the road and providing electricity to over 160,000 homes in the UAE.

Shams Solar Power Plant Abu Dhabi (Developed by – Masdar)

Located in the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi, Shams was the largest renewable energy project in operation in the Middle East when it was launched in 2013. It occupies 2.5 square kilometres and has a capacity of 100 megawatts. The solar field has 768 parabolic trough collectors to generate clean, renewable electricity.

Shams plays a direct role in achieving Abu Dhabi’s goal of attaining 30 percent of power-generation capacity from clean energy by 2030. Additionally, the plant supports the United Arab Emirates in diversifying its energy sources and diminishing the nation’s carbon footprint. This results in the displacement of approximately 175,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to planting 1.5 million trees or removing 15,000 cars from the roads of Abu Dhabi.

Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in Abu Dhabi (Developed by – Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), Co-developed by – Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO))

The UAE’s pioneer Nuclear Plant is a result of the Joint Venture Agreement between ENEC and KEPCO.

Located in the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi on the Arabian Gulf, approximately 53 km west-southwest of the city of Ruwais. The Plant’s four APR1400 design nuclear reactors will supply up to 25% of the UAE’s electricity needs once fully operational.

Construction of the plant commenced in July 2012 with the Barakah plant’s fourth and final unit, finished in December 2023. Expected to be operational in early 2025, the plant is expected to prevent up to 22 million tons of carbon emissions every year, equivalent to removing 4.8 million cars from the roads. It will also contribute 85% of Abu Dhabi’s clean electricity.

Hydroelectric power plant in Hatta (Developed by EDF for Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA))

The first of its kind in the GCC region, this hydroelectric power plant with a planned capacity of 250MW is part of Dubai’s Clean Energy Strategy 2050. Expected to complete in Q1 2025, it aims to achieve Dubai’s target of 100% clean energy by 2050.

DEWA was also awarded a Dh10.9 million ($2.96 million) contract to build a water pipeline in Hatta, as part of the hydroelectric power plant. The project is part of Dewa’s efforts to achieve the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100 per cent of Dubai’s total power production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.

Energy will be stored in an upper dam, about 150m from Hatta’s main dam, and will be 100 per cent renewable. The stored energy will then be sent to help power the Dewa grid.

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai (Developed by – Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA))

Set to be the world’s largest single-site solar park with a planned 5,000MW capacity by 2030, this AED 50 billion project already boasts an impressive 2,627MW production capacity.

Already boasting an impressive capacity of 2,627 MW, the park, built with an investment of AED 15.78 billion, features the world’s tallest solar tower at 263.126 meters and the largest thermal energy storage capacity of 5,907 megawatt-hours (MWh), earning recognition in the Guinness World Records, as stated by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the MD and CEO of DEWA.

It aims to save over 6.5 million tons of carbon emissions annually.

Green Hydrogen & Ammonia manufacturing plant in KIZAD (Developed by – Petrolyn Chemie (Petrolyn and Chemie Tech))

Co-developed by – Electric utility Korea Electric Power (KEPCO), construction and engineering company Samsung C&T, and power supply and trading, Korea Western Power

Three South Korean companies have signed an agreement with UAE-based Petrolyn Chemie, a joint venture between UAE energy companies Petrolyn and Chemie Tech, to build a $1bn green hydrogen and ammonia manufacturing plant in the UAE.

The new plant, planned to produce up to 200,000 tonnes per annum of green ammonia, will be constructed in the KIZAD Industrial Area near the capital Abu Dhabi. The project will undergo two phases, with the initial phase set to produce 35,000 tonnes before proceeding to full-scale production in the second phase.

Green ammonia, produced without fossil fuels, is utilized in the manufacturing of carbon-neutral fertilizer products. Production is scheduled to commence in the second quarter of 2024, with a focus on exporting primarily to Europe and the US, as stated by a KIZAD official in 2021.

Ruwais LNG plant in Abu Dhabi (Developed by – Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Co-developed by – Baker Hughes)

Awarded to Baker Hughes by ADNOC, this LNG project in Ruwais is the first in the MENA region to run on clean power, making it one of the lowest carbon-intensity LNG facilities globally.

The compressors from the US oilfield technology company will be powered by 75-megawatt electric motors, making the Ruwais plant the first clean-powered LNG project in the MENA region. The project comprises two natural gas liquefaction trains with a combined capacity of 9.6 million metric tonnes per annum.

Wind farms across UAE (Developed by – Masdar)

Although wind energy was once considered unfeasible in the UAE due to low wind speeds, advancements in climate technology have rendered the project “scalable and economically viable,” according to Masdar.

In addition, turbines, reduced hardware costs and the discovery of a weather phenomenon that produces high wind speeds at night have helped make wind energy projects scalable and feasible.

Four wind farms with a combined capacity of 103.5MW are being developed by the Abu Dhabi based company. The project sites are Sir Bani Yas Island in Abu Dhabi with 45MW of wind capacity and a 14MW solar farm, two 27MW wind farms on Delma Island and Al Sila in Abu Dhabi, and a 4.5MW wind farm at Al Halah in Fujairah.

The wind projects will generate enough clean energy to meet the needs of 23,000 UAE households annually, while displacing 120,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Taweelah desalination plant in Abu Dhabi (Developed by – Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC))

EWEC, a leading company in the integrated coordination of planning, purchasing, and supply of water and electricity across the UAE, has announced that the production of desalinated water using low-carbon intensive reverse osmosis (RO) technology from the Taweelah RO facility has surpassed 90 per cent capacity. This makes it the world’s largest operating RO facility.

Once fully operational, it will supply over 909,200 cu m per day of potable water. The Abu Dhabi utility group emphasized that the incorporation of low-carbon-intensive reverse osmosis (RO) water desalination technology is a pivotal element in its strategic initiative to separate water and power generation.

Utilizing RO results in a remarkable 96% increase in energy efficiency compared to traditional thermal desalination plants, leading to a reduction in carbon emissions by over 85%.

Habshan CCUS project in Abu Dhabi (Developed by – Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Co-developed by – Petrofac)

Located at the Habshan gas processing plant, the carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) project involves installing carbon capture units, creating pipeline infrastructure, and establishing wells for CO2 injection at the Habshan gas processing plant. This closed-loop system will permanently store CO2 in subsurface reservoirs through the deployment of a closed-loop CO2 capture and reinjection system.

Once operational, the Habshan project will have the capacity to capture and permanently store 1.5 million tonnes/year (tpy) of CO2 and will triple ADNOC’s carbon capture capacity to 2.3 million tpy. This ambitious initiative is a crucial component of ADNOC’s broader strategy to reduce carbon emissions and contribute to global efforts in combating climate change.

These initiatives collectively signify the UAE’s steadfast commitment to sustainable and clean energy, positioning the nation as a trailblazer in the global transition towards a more environmentally conscious future.