UAE energy-mix to have 10pc renewables by 2030

RITIKA SHARMA / Emirates Business

The cost-competitiveness of renewable energy gives the UAE an opportunity to invest in renewables and make sure more of the natural energy is used. Experts believe that based on the current trends in the energy sector, the UAE will achieve at least 10 percent use of renewable energy in its energy-mix by 2030 and 25 percent in its power generation-mix.
This use of more renewables can result into net savings of around $ 1.9 billion annually. The country’s pioneering push into renewables — based on longer-term goals like economic diversification, sustainability and enhanced employment creation — can also be justified by short-term economics.
Talking to Emirates Business about the role UAE plays in overall contribution towards a renewable dependent future, Ivano Iannelli, CEO — Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence, said, “UAE monitors and pilots commercially economical viable best practices that are fit for the region and acts as a front-runner and trendsetter in this part of the world. At Dubai Carbon, we keep challenging best practices, and enable the GCC and the MENA region to replicate and scale success stories.”
It is worth a mention that Dubai carbon, as a green economy facilitator, is engaged in creating an economic model that is feasible, while reducing environmental risks. “The private sector is a key operator and a central player in this low-carbon economic model and therefore plays an important role both in developed and developing countries,” Iannelli said.
Solar energy is the critical resource and focus for the UAE. Different forms of solar energy usages are expected to account for more than 90 percent of renewable energy use by 2030, says REmap 2030, a report by Abu-Dhabi based international renewable agency IRENA.
“The building and power sectors dominate in the REmap 2030 findings, achieving renewable energy shares of 29 percent and 25 percent respectively. The industry and transportation sectors follow with 5.5 percent and 1.1 percent renewable energy shares respectively. The difference owes largely to the cost of deployment and related technology maturity, as well as the UAE’s subsidisation of natural gas for industry and gasoline for transport,” the REmap report stated.
Adnan Z. Amin, Director-General of IRENA, said “The UAE has taken a bold stance to embrace renewable energy — a stance that captured the attention of countries throughout the Middle East and the world. Renewable energy made economic sense for the region decades earlier than expected, and the UAE now stands ready to benefit from its first-mover advantage.”