Abu Dhabi:Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, has announced that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is actively working to diversify its energy sources, expand clean energy projects, and improve energy efficiency. These efforts are aimed at ensuring reliable energy supplies, meeting growing demand, and enhancing the national economy's competitiveness.
According to Wam, Al Mazrouei made these remarks on World Energy Day, emphasizing that the UAE's energy strategy focuses on energy security and emissions reduction. The strategy involves a diversified energy mix to ensure reliable supplies and increase the share of clean energy to meet future demands.
Al Mazrouei highlighted that the UAE's renewable energy capacity has seen significant growth, increasing from 129 megawatts in 2015 to over 8.2 gigawatts by 2025. Clean energy accounted for 32.4 percent of the country's electricity generation in 2025, with plans to raise this to 35 percent by 2031. The country also plans national investments of up to AED200 billion by 2030 to develop clean energy projects and support economic and population growth.
The minister pointed to major projects like the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, which has a generation capacity of 5.6 gigawatts and supplies 25 percent of the UAE's electricity needs, as vital components in diversifying the energy mix. The plant also contributes to preventing 22.4 million tons of carbon emissions annually.
Al Mazrouei noted the UAE's international efforts, including increasing the generation capacity of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park by 60 percent by 2030 and Masdar's investments reaching approximately US$45 billion to expand its clean energy portfolio to more than 65 gigawatts, with a target of 100 gigawatts by 2030.
The UAE continues to prioritize improving energy efficiency alongside expanding its generation capacity. Al Mazrouei stressed the importance of a balanced approach that combines increased supply capacity with improved consumption efficiency to meet the demands of economic and population growth. He also mentioned the UAE's role in global initiatives, such as the Global Energy Efficiency Alliance, to enhance energy efficiency improvements worldwide.
Looking forward, the UAE plans to accelerate energy project implementation, expand private sector participation, develop financing mechanisms, and transform emerging technologies into scalable solutions to meet development needs and enhance energy supply reliability, resource efficiency, and economic competitiveness.