Abu Dhabi’s power demand is expected to double by 2050, driven by rapid expansion of the economy, population growth and digital infrastructure, according to a senior official.
The emirate’s total installed capacity is projected to rise to 50 gigawatts from the current 25 gigawatts, with major investments planned in building utility infrastructure, Abdulaziz Alobaidli, director general for regulatory affairs at the Department of Energy, told The National.
“In the coming decades, Abu Dhabi will invest more than Dh300 billion in utility infrastructure in generation, transmission and distribution. This is to cope with the demand growth alongside population growth, economic expansion, adoption of digital infrastructure, AI and computing plans,” Mr Alobaidli said.
Abu Dhabi is doubling down on building renewable energy plants to reach net-zero energy targets by 2050.
The projection matches the International Energy Agency’s forecast that global electricity demand is set to nearly double by 2050.
Last year, the UAE launched the “world’s first” facility to provide renewable energy at scale around the clock.
Masdar, in partnership with the Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec), is building the $6 billion project that can produce 1 gigawatt of uninterrupted clean power. The project is expected to start next year, with Masdar reaching the financial close on the project in June.
“Contribution of clean and renewable [energy] is expected to reach 60 per cent in the coming five years (from 45 per cent currently) and then we will increase it further in the coming years,” Mr Alobaidli said.
Abu Dhabi is also investing heavily in AI infrastructure, which is expected to boost demand for energy.
Among the projects is the 1GW Stargate UAE project being developed by Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence company G42 in partnership with technology giants OpenAI, Oracle and Nvidia. It will be within the 5GW UAE-US AI Campus in Abu Dhabi.
Demand for water is also increasing in Abu Dhabi, but “not at the same pace as power demand”, Mr Alobaidli said. He added that the emirate is investing in reverse osmosis technology to meet rising water demand.
“Recently we have invested a lot on the reverse osmosis technology, as a more efficient technology. So we’re going to double down on this, specifically with many of our thermal desalination units getting aged and [reaching] their end of life.”
Reverse osmosis is a process in which water flows through a membrane that separates heavier sediments and salts. Desired minerals such as calcium and magnesium are then added to the filtered water before it is packaged or transported for consumption.
Mr Alobaidli said water and power supplies were not interrupted and none of its assets were damaged during the Iran conflict, with the system “resilient” due to long-term investment and planning.
“It’s a long-term investment that started years ago, but we started seeing the benefit of it today,” he said.
The regional war has “emphasised and reinforced” the importance of resilience, he added.
He said it was important to “invest in preparedness before the disruption occurs, because disruption pressures the system, but only long years of planning, long years of preparedness allow you to overcome such a pressure volatility”.
Iran launched missiles and drones at the UAE and other Gulf nations after the US and Israel attacked Tehran on February 28.
Despite the conflict, the UAE’s economy grew by 3 per cent on an annual basis in the first three months of 2026 to reach Dh485 billion ($132 billion), as the country’s non-oil sector expanded.