The News
Electricity use in Abu Dhabi reached an all-time high in August despite a summer exodus of residents, as demand on the emirate’s power grid remains on pace to nearly double between 2025 and 2035, Department of Energy Chairman Abdulla Humaid Al Jarwan told Semafor.
asserted
Jarwan → reach → Semafor
To meet the demand from a growing population, industrial expansion, and AI infrastructure, the emirate is investing 300 billion dirhams ($81.7 billion) by 2035 to add capacity and shift to cleaner sources, Al Jarwan said.
asserted
Jarwan → meet → sources
It’s also transforming its water system to reduce reliance on gas and make seawater desalination cheaper and more efficient.
asserted
desalination → transform → gas
The UAE was the Gulf country most heavily targeted by Iranian drones and missiles in the early months of the war.
asserted
UAE → target → war
This was a major test for power and water suppliers, Al Jarwan said.
asserted
Jarwan → say → suppliers
“I think it’s a privilege that we managed to test our system under real disruption in real time, and we perform[ed],” he said, adding that services weren’t interrupted during the conflict.
asserted
services → think → conflict
The Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant was targeted by a drone in May, but the strike didn’t cause a leak or major disruption.
uncertain
strike → target → leak
The Arab world’s first nuclear power plant, which supplies about a quarter of the country’s electricity, was built to withstand the impact of a large commercial aircraft.
asserted
which → supply → aircraft
Abu Dhabi is now focused on expanding solar power and reducing its reliance on gas to produce potable water.
asserted
Dhabi → focus → water
With about 6.7 gigawatts of installed solar across the country, Al Jarwan said the department aims to add 3 GW per year in Abu Dhabi, plus round-the-clock battery storage, over the next decade.
asserted
department → instal → decade
Clean energy, including nuclear power, rose from 1% to 47% of Abu Dhabi’s power mix in the last 10 years, Al Jarwan said.
asserted
Jarwan → include → years
That shift matters for water, too.
asserted
shift → matter → water
Desalination is the UAE’s main source of fresh water, supplemented by strategic storage, aquifers, recycled water, and groundwater.
asserted
Desalination → supplement → storage
The capital’s Liwa reserve could supply 1 million people with potable water for 90 days during an emergency.
uncertain
reserve → supply → emergency
Gulf desalination has relied mostly on thermal systems that boil seawater with waste heat from gas-fired power plants.
asserted
that → rely → plants
Abu Dhabi is accelerating a shift toward reverse osmosis, which can run on electricity from any source.
asserted
which → accelerate → source
The emirate aims to use reverse osmosis for nearly all its desalination by 2035, up from around a quarter in 2022, according to the Department of Energy.
uncertain
emirate → aim → Energy
Water is becoming the latest soft power tool for Abu Dhabi.
asserted
Water → become → Dhabi
The emirate wants to deploy its technology, expertise, and capital abroad, according to Al Jarwan, who has traveled to the US, China, Europe, and Singapore in recent months meeting with counterparts.
uncertain
who → want → counterparts
With energy and water systems needing to be more resilient, now “it’s all about us differentiating the Abu Dhabi system from other systems,” Al Jarwan said.
asserted
Jarwan → need → systems
The goals are to “deploy at scale, have a positive impact, and make sure that we globalize the message when it comes to water and energy.”
asserted
it → deploy → water
Abu Dhabi will co-host the UN Water Conference with Senegal in December, alongside the Department of Energy’s inaugural Water and Power Week, which expects more than 25,000 visitors.
asserted
which → co → visitors
It will be a chance for Al Jarwan — and the UAE — to make their pitch for solutions to the global “water bankruptcy,” as UN researchers describe the crisis.
asserted
researchers → make → crisis
“If we create a sense of urgency, and Abu Dhabi manages to showcase the deliverables that are on the ground today, the world will learn a lesson that things are doable, water is manageable,” Al Jarwan said.
asserted
Jarwan → create → lesson
Notable
- Abu Dhabi renewable energy firm Masdar is constructing what it says will be the world’s largest 24/7 solar-and-battery power project.
asserted
it → construct → ?
The $6 billion project is slated for completion in 2027, Semafor reported last October.
asserted
Semafor → slat → 2027
The Aporia
