Dubai’s installed electricity capacity has increased 10-fold since 1990s

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (Dewa) installed capacity has reached 12,900 megawatts (MW) of electricity, increasing ten-fold when compared to 1990s, it said in a statement on Sunday.

The utility services provider’s installed capacity of desalinated water per day (MIGD) has increased to 490 million imperial gallons as demand for both electricity and water has been consistently rising due to the emirate’s population growth.

In 1990s, Dubai’s installed capacity of electricity was about 1,200 MW and water was 60 MIGD. This has increased more than 10 times for electricity and more than 8 times for water.

It is expected that the installed production capacity of electricity will increase next July to 13,200 megawatts, with the commissioning of the 300MW first project of the 900MW 5th phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, using photovoltaic solar panels based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dewa, said electricity infrastructure expansion plans are developed based on demand forecast in Dubai until 2030, considering the demographic and economic growth in the Emirate.

“Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic on the global economy, Dubai continues to grow and develop; consolidating its position as an attractive environment for global investments,” he said.

Dewa aims to provide 75 per cent of Dubai’s total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2050. These include the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is the largest single-site solar park in the world, with a planned capacity of 5,000 MW by 2030. The Smart Grid is a key component of Dewa’s strategy to develop an advanced infrastructure. The Smart Grid includes programmes with investments of up to Dh7 billion that will be completed in the short, medium, and long-term until 2035,” added Al Tayer.

— waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com