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Over 60% of Total Power Demand Is Delivered From Renewable Energy Sources, Reveals EWEC | |
| Sumita Pawar |
For the first time over 60% of the total power demand was delivered from renewable and clean energy sources, announced [EWEC] Emirates Water and Electricity Company of UAE.
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According to the media, EWEC announced the achievement last month. Approximately 5.5 gigawatts [GW] of the total 8.6GW system power demand was supplied from EWEC’s solar power and nuclear energy plants.
For Othman Al Ali, Chief Executive Officer of EWEC, this achievement is a true testament to EWEC’s strategic initiative that prioritize carbon-free technologies in support of the UAE’s sustainable and economic objectives.
Othman Al Ali commented, “We are proud to play a pivotal role in the country’s energy transition by growing and diversifying our world-leading utility-scale renewable energy projects”. He added, this significant milestone demonstrates the country’s wise leadership in tackling climate change through actionable plans to achieve the UAE Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative, ensuring the prosperity and sustainability of our country for generations to come.
EWEC commissioned the development of three of the world’s largest single-site solar power plants.
Report further stated, in 2019, Noor Abu Dhabi began its commercial operations by generating approximately 1GW [AC] of electricity. Al Dhafra Solar PV will be the new world’s largest single-site solar power plant, with a generation capacity of roughly 1.5GW (AC) and is currently under construction.
Al Dhafra Solar PV reduce carbon emissions by 2.4 million metric tonnes per year, which is said to be equivalent to removing approximately 470,000 cars from the road.
According to the report, EWEC invited developers or developer consortiums to submit an Expression of Interest [EOI] for developing a new Solar Photovoltaic [PV], Independent Power Project to be located in the Ajban area, Abu Dhabi.
Al Ajban Solar PV will be in a similar size and generation capacity to Al Dhafra Solar PV.
EWEC predicts that its solar power projects will reduce carbon emissions to around 20 million tonnes by 2025 from more than 40 million tonnes by 2020, when combined with the addition of nuclear power to the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant grid.
The first nuclear energy plant in the Arab world is The Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant and which consists of four APR1400 nuclear reactors.
By Sumita Pawar