Abu Dhabi officials have partnered with BP to map out how the emirate’s rapid economic growth will affect future water and energy demand.
The Abu Dhabi Regulation and Supervision Bureau will use technology harnessed by BP to visualise what different levels of development will mean for water and energy supply.
“Over the next two decades Abu Dhabi is forecast to continue on its track of economic and population growth,” said Nick Carter, director general of the bureau. “In this context and in our role as the regulator of the emirate’s water, wastewater and electricity sector, we seek to provide policymakers with a long–term view on future capacity and product availability.”
Abu Dhabi has one of the highest water consumption per capita rates in the world, while domestic electricity consumption per capita is 10 times higher than world averages, according to Environment Agency Abu Dhabi. Existing strains on energy supply will be further stretched as the emirate’s economy transforms as part of the 2030 Economic Vision.
The tie-up with BP gives Abu Dhabi officials access to the energy company’s programme called the Energy Sustainability Challenge, involving academics from 15 top universities around the world. Using a system developed at the University of Cambridge called the Foreseer tool, researchers have worked with governments of California, China and the UK to forecast how different decisions can affect water, land and energy supplies. With Abu Dhabi, the project will focus on generating a model of future energy and water use based on factors such as population growth and economic development.
Abu Dhabi’s 2030 plan envisions growing the size of the economy from US$120 billion in 2010 to $415bn by 2030. The population is expected to grow to anywhere between 3 million and more than 5 million. The plan also recognises the need to efficiently manage the emirate’s oil and gas wealth, as well as conserving water resources.
“Developing a clear technical understanding of the complex relationships between energy, land and water and visualising these using the innovative Foreseer tool, will provide valuable insights to help policymakers with important decisions,” said BP’s chief scientist, Dr Angela Strank.
The Foreseer tool will show the current use of water for households, commercial projects, energy, agriculture and other industry. It will model the different sources and uses of energy in Abu Dhabi and develop future scenarios that could have implications for policy decisions. The first phase of the project will be completed during 2014.
“The Foreseer tool has proven value in allowing us to visualise and model long-term water and energy scenarios,” said Julian Allwood, reader in engineering with the University of Cambridge and consultant for the project.
The Government has already set out targets to better manage its energy resources in the future. In 2009, it pledged that 7 per cent of the energy consumed in the emirate would come from renewable sources by 2020. In January, the Environment Agency said it would treat and re-use all of its waste water to irrigate farms and parks within four years.
tarnold@thenational.ae
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