The photo is sourced from enec.com
After commissioning of the fourth power unit, Baraka NPP will be capable of supplying 25% of the UAE’s electricity needs. As ENEC estimates, the power plant would save 22.4 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, which is equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions from 4.6 million internal combustion engine vehicles. The NPP benefits include saving natural gas whose consumption is at a 13-year low in the UAE this year. The project will also enable the UAE to meet the greenhouse emission savings targets set for 2030 by quarter.
The Barakah NPP was the first nuclear power plant in the Middle East where hydrocarbons are the main generation source. According to Ember, natural gas accounted for 73% of the region’s electricity generation in 2023, and oil and oil products for 19%, while all the other sources accounted for only 8% (rounded values). At the same time, most countries in the region continue to increase their gas consumption, including the power sector. For example, gas demand in Iraq more than tripled between 2013 and 2022 (from 6.4 billion to 20.5 billion cubic meters), and the share of gas in the power generation mix increased from 49% to 69%.
However, despite a high availability of hydrocarbons, the usage of low-carbon sources in the Middle East has been increasing. For example, the installed RES capacity in the region more than doubled between 2014 and 2023 (from 16 GWh to 36 GWh, according to IRENA). Hydropower seems to be one of the drivers of RES development in the coming years: Dubai government entity DEWA plans to commission the UAE’s first hydro storage power plant (HSPP) in 2025 in the city of Hatta located at the border with Oman. The HPPP is to be equipped with two reservoirs with a 150-meter height difference between them. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park with a capacity of 5 GW will be located next to the power plant under construction, which would provide energy to pump water from the lower reservoir to the upper one through a 1.2 km tunnel.
