The United Arab Emirate of Abu Dhabi has initiated its first utility-scale wind power program hot on the heels of unveiling the world’s fourth-largest wind farm.
As part of an Emirates-wide initiatives, the Abu Dhabi clean energy company Masdar announced proposals for a 103.5MV wind power drive spread across four locations earlier this week. A spokesperson confirmed that the largest of these would be a 45MW wind farm on Sir Bani Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
Other locations include two 27MW projects for Delma Island and Al Sila in Abu Dhabi, and a 4.5MW project in Al Halah in Fujairah. Once connected to the grid, the wind farms are expected to meet the electricity demands of over 23,000 homes – the country’s first meaningful addition of wind power to its energy mix.
Much of that would be taken up by the Emirates Water and Electricity Company, which has signed a purchase agreement with Masdar for the power generated from the projects. Energy technologists did not previously consider wind power to be economically viable in the Emirates due to perceptively low wind speeds.
However, Masdar worked on a strategy of capitalizing on unique regional weather patterns that see higher wind speeds after sunset. The renewable energy company also worked on a procurement drive for larger turbines and competitively priced hardware from China.
The primary engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the program is PowerChina, with much of the equipment being supplied by China’s GoldWind group, according to published records.
The announcement follows the unveiling of the world’s fourth-largest solar farm at the recently concluded energy conference ADIPEC 2023, held in Abu Dhabi from October 2 to 5, 2023. The 2GW farm at Al Dhafra, Abu Dhabi is thought to be just weeks away from going online.
While it will relegate neighboring Dubai’s as yet to be fully completed Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park (1.63GW) to fifth on the global list, the latter’s capacity is also projected to be in the region of a world-leading 5GW upon completion in 2027. Both solar farms are expected to reduce 9 million tons of carbon emissions per year on full functionality, while the proposed wind farms will reduce a further 120,000 tons.
The United Arab Emirates has been upscaling renewable energy investments in line with its set objective of achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050, and as it prepares to host the United Nations COP28 climate conference from November 30 to December 12, 2023.
“Our wind power program is a great source of national pride and a demonstration of Masdar’s ability to pioneer and implement innovations in wind and renewable energy technologies,” said Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, COP28 President-designate and Chairman of Masdar.
“For a viable energy transition, the world must triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 to meet the Paris Agreement goals. As we look forward to hosting Cop28, the inauguration [of the wind power program] shows the UAE’s firm commitment to this target, boosting clean energy investments both at home and abroad.”
Mohamed Al-Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, added: “The wind program is the result of years of hard work and collaboration. As we accelerate our path to net zero by 2050, it shows that anything is possible when you have vision, passion and a pioneering spirit.”
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