The UAE unveiled 11 environmentally-friendly energy projects worth AED159 B in 2022, according to Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, on Sunday. According to Emirates News Agency (WAM), Al Mazrouei indicated that the UAE’s clean energy production in 2021 totalled 7,035.75 megawatts (MW), highlighting the country’s efforts in the clean energy sector.
Al Mazrouei also emphasised the UAE Energy Policy 2050, the country’s first unified energy strategy, which intends to integrate the renewable and clean energy mix to create a balance between economic needs and climate goals, as well as reduce reliance on other fuel sources over the next three decades. He noted that the UAE has adopted the latest innovations that drive the path of sustainable growth to secure the sustainability of the renewable energy sector, noting that the UAE was among the first nations to ratify the Paris Agreement.
He also stated that the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure established the aspects of the energy sector’s future for the next 50 years by rewriting the National Energy Strategy 2050, developing the National Hydrogen Strategy, and relying on previous successes.
Al Mazrouei stressed that clean energy’s contribution to the energy mix in 2021 reached 19.63%, while the contribution of renewable energy reached 12%, and the contribution of peaceful nuclear energy reached 7.55%. The global turmoil in energy supplies has created challenges related to energy security and will, therefore, lead to a focus on using the lowest-priced resources available locally, to meet the country’s energy requirements, with an increase in exports in the non-oil sector from the UAE, he added.
The UAE has considerable potential in the field of solar power, and the low cost of solar power will enhance the country’s energy security and its competitiveness, in addition to playing a key role in achieving carbon neutrality, he noted, affirming that the rise of renewables requires transportation upgrades and investment in storage technologies to reliably meet energy requirements.
With the expected decrease in storage costs and their commercialisation, long-term storage technologies will play a major role in decarbonising the grid in a reliable and affordable way, he further added. Speaking about the performance of international oil markets in 2023, Al Mazrouei highlighted several related factors that will drive prices in 2023, such as the end of China’s zero-COVID policy, the US decision to refill the Strategic Oil Reserve, the sanctions imposed on Russian seaborne oil products, and ongoing global inflation.
He also discussed other variables that could have a negative impact on pricing, such as the global recession, China’s declining need for oil, and the resumption of commerce between Russia and Europe. Al Mazrouei emphasized that the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant is a pioneering creative energy project in the energy transition process. Once fully operational, its four reactors will annually offset 22.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions, which are the primary cause of climate change.
The new successes and progress made during the development of the four Barakah reactors, the first multi-station peaceful nuclear energy project in operation in the Arab world, will play a critical role in reducing the UAE’s energy sector’s carbon footprint in order to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, he added.
Al Mazrouei also pointed out that once commercially operational, the third reactor will add another 1,400 MW of carbon-free electricity to the UAE’s electricity grid, which will help achieve the country’s energy security and combat climate change. The successive achievements of the Barakah plant highlight the UAE’s considerable capabilities in drafting and managing major projects. The UAE is a model of developing mini reactors and a new generation of reactors and is paving the way for other carbon-free energy sources, including hydrogen, Al Mazrouei affirmed, noting that the country’s hydrogen strategy is based on 10 key pillars and will help it achieve its goal to become one of the top 10 hydrogen producers by 2031.
“Gray hydrogen is currently produced and used in refineries in the range of 0.3 million tonnes per year. However, there are several DEWA/Siemens pilot projects that utilise blue hydrogen-based ammonia exported to Germany and Japan, as there are more than 10 projects underway, with seven being major projects under development while some are undergoing feasibility studies,” added Al Mazrouei.
