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Abu Dhabi aims to meet 60% of its energy needs from renewable and clean energy by 2035, according to the government-owned Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC).
The interim target is 50 percent share for renewable and clean energy by 2030, EWEC said, citing its latest forecast on Abu Dhabi’s water and electricity production for 2024-2037 period.
Installed solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity is on track to increase to approximately 7.5 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, according to the ‘Statement of Future Capacity Requirements Summary Report 2024-2037.’
In a related report on Thursday, UAE daily Alittihad quoted EWEC’s CEO Othman Ali as saying that by the end of 2027, the Emirate’s solar power generation will surpass 5GW and will continue growing by around 1.4GW annually from 2027 to 2037.
Currently, 2.5GW of solar power capacity is operational in Abu Dhabi with further three projects totalling 4.5GW under development by 2028.
Ali said solar power production will peak at nearly 19GW in 2037 after all the projects are completed.
“In 2037, we expect solar power generation to reach 19GW…..at the end of 2035, we renewable energy sources, including nuclear power, will account for nearly 60 percent of the UAE’s total produced energy,” he said.
Nuclear power would supply around 5.6GW and that other energy production sources include gas- and battery storage systems, he noted.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)