Utilities

With the decline in oil prices placing the federal budget under pressure, and demand for power and water increasing at a rapid rate, the authorities have turned their attention toward more effective consumer pricing and demand management. Diversification away from reliance on combined-cycle gas independent water and power producers will have a transformative effect on the supply side of the sector in the coming years. Renewable energy is expected to play an increasingly important role in Abu Dhabi’s power generation in the near future, with the emirate working towards a 7% renewable target by 2020. The biggest shake-up to Abu Dhabi’s power sector, however, will arrive with the launch of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, which is due to begin producing power in 2017 and will eventually have an output of 5600 MW – representing more than a third of current generation capacity.