The United Arab Emirates officially inaugurated its UAE Wind Program to develop viable solutions for bringing wind energy to the UAE’s energy mix. In total, the UAE Wind Program is projected to power over 23,000 homes a year and displace 120,000 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of removing 26,000 cars from the road annually.
As part of the Program, the UAE has selected Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar to develop a 103.5 MW project aimed at capturing low wind speeds at a utility scale to make wind energy possible in the country.
While solar, nuclear, and waste-to-energy plants already feed into the UAE’s national grid, wind energy was previously not a viable option due to the country’s low wind speeds. However, with climate technology innovations and the discovery of a unique weather phenomenon that generates higher wind speeds at night, the UAE now has a feasible opportunity to add wind to its energy mix.
The project will span across four locations, including:
- A 45 MW capacity wind farm plus 14 MWp solar farm on Sir Bani Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
- A 27 MW capacity wind farm in Delma Island, Abu Dhabi.
- A 27 MW capacity wind farm in Al Sila, Abu Dhabi.
- A 4.5 MW capacity wind farm in Al Halah, Fujairah.
"As the UAE's flagship renewable energy company, this is an incredibly proud moment for Masdar. Today's launch of the UAE's first utility-scale wind program is the result of years of hard work and collaboration,” said Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Masdar CEO. “We were able to pioneer cutting-edge technology to overcome the UAE's low wind speeds and harness the power of this formidable natural resource. As we accelerate our path to Net Zero by 2050, the UAE wind program shows that anything is possible when you have vision, passion, and a pioneering spirit."
