Dubai to expand electricity and water production capacity to meet growing demand

Dewa plans to invest $10.9bn in electricity and water projects over the next five years

The current production capacity of Dubai's Hassyan Power Complex, which runs on natural gas, has reached 1,800MW. A further 600MW will be added next year, Dewa said. Photo: Dewa

Dubai will expand its water and electricity production to keep up with growing demand in the emirate, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority said on Tuesday.

Currently, Dewa provides electricity and water services to more than 3.5 million people living in Dubai. The utility company expects this number to reach 5.8 million by 2040.

Energy demand in Dubai grew 6.3 per cent year-on-year in the first half of this year, driven by sustained economic recovery in the emirate, Dewa said.

Demand for energy in the emirate during the first six months of this year reached 23,096 gigawatt hours compared with 21,729 gigawatt hours in the same period in 2021.

Dewa's capacity reached 14,117 megawatts of electricity and 490 million imperial gallons of desalinated water per day during the January-June period.

“Dewa has outlined expansion plans for the energy and water infrastructure based on demand forecasts until 2031,” said Saeed Al Tayer, managing director and chief executive of Dewa.

The utility plans to invest Dh40 billion ($10.9bn) in electricity and water projects over the next five years focusing on renewables, clean energy, electricity and water transmission and distribution networks.

The new investment will cover the Hassyan Power Complex and water projects at Hassyan, in addition to completing other continuing projects in infrastructure and smart systems.

The current production capacity of the Hassyan Power Complex, which runs on natural gas, has reached 1,800MW, using the independent power producer model.

A further 600MW will be added next year, raising the capacity of the complex to 2,400MW, Dewa said.

“We will continue to implement pioneering projects to diversify Dubai’s clean and renewable energy sources to include all available technologies in Dubai,” said Mr Al Tayer.

The utility is also currently implementing Dubai’s Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and Dubai’s Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050, as part of which the emirate aims to ensure 100 per cent of production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.

The share of clean energy in Dubai’s energy mix has reached 11.5 per cent and is expected to reach 14 per cent by the end of 2022, Dewa said.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which Dewa is implementing, is the largest single-site solar park in the world using the IPP model, with a planned capacity of 5,000 megawatt by 2030.

The current production capacity of the solar park has reached 1,627MW using photovoltaic panels.

Meanwhile, the Jebel Ali power and desalination complex, the largest single-site natural gas power generation facility in the world, is currently operating at a capacity of 9,547MW, the utility said.

Another key project operated by Dewa is the H-Station Power Plant in Al Aweer, which is aimed at meeting the reserve margin criterion set for peak electricity demand in Dubai. The station’s current installed capacity is 1,996MW of electricity.