Interview: Awaidha Murshed Al Marar
How can Abu Dhabi’s electricity segment adapt to the UAE’s decarbonisation obligations?
AWAIDHA MURSHED AL MARAR: In October 2021 the UAE became the first country in the MENA region to announce a national net-zero initiative, with the target year being 2050. Abu Dhabi, which is the largest emirate and accounts for 60% of the UAE’s energy consumption, will play a leading role in the country’s energy transition. Policies and regulations are fundamental to guiding this decarbonisation journey. The DoE, as the authority tasked with leading the energy transition in Abu Dhabi, is working to support and enable national strategies and visions, and ensure a balance between growth and investment on the one hand, and energy and water security on the other.
Abu Dhabi has implemented a number of regulations and policies to accelerate the UAE’s decarbonisation. The emirate has diversified its electricity production mix by developing significant clean energy facilities, including 5.6 GW of nuclear capacity and 1.3 GW of solar capacity. These two sources comprise more than 25% of Abu Dhabi’s total electricity generation capacity. In November 2022 the DoE unveiled the Clean Energy Strategic Target 2035 for Electricity Production in Abu Dhabi, the first legally binding clean and renewable energy target for an electricity segment in the Middle East.
What are some ways in which the emirate plans to reach its targeted renewables capacity?
AL MARAR: Once realised, 60% of Abu Dhabi’s power will be generated from clean and renewable energy sources by 2035, and up to 75% of the power segment’s carbon emissions intensity – tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted per MWh produced – will be reduced. This strategic target is accompanied by regulations and policies to accelerate the UAE’s decarbonisation, such as a regulatory policy for clean energy certificates, a policy for energy production from waste and a policy for building infrastructure for electric vehicle charging stations. Other initiatives aim to address energy efficiency in government buildings, water-management systems in district cooling, recycled water, demand-side management and energy rationalisation.
To what extent are the new regulations targeting clean energy helping attract investment?
AL MARAR: The deployment and use of clean energy solutions and technologies are among Abu Dhabi’s primary goals for attracting investment and diversifying the economy. The expansion of clean energy solutions to enhance the competitiveness of Abu Dhabi-based companies in global markets is one of the DoE’s main priorities. In addition to encouraging the generation of clean electricity at competitive prices, one of the main initiatives is the clean energy certificate scheme, a DoE regulatory policy approved in August 2021.
Clean energy certificates in Abu Dhabi are in adherence to the International Renewable Energy Certificate standard, and they emphasise the environmental attributes of a megawatt hour of energy generated using clean and renewable sources. Electricity producers inject an electrical charge into the grid in one place and a consumer takes the charge off the grid elsewhere, although there is no way to track electrons through the grid. This being the case, the only reliable mechanism for making claims about the use of a specific charge that has been taken off the grid is a system of certificates unbundled from the physical production of electricity.
With these certificates, companies are able to claim the environmental benefits of clean and renewable energy production for their own electricity consumption. The scheme is proving successful in Abu Dhabi, and many companies are already to using them to support their electricity consumption.
Read More from OBG
