Mitigation Strategies of CO2 Emissions in the Power Sector in Both Supply and Demand in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi

Abstract

Abu Dhabi is the largest Emirate in the UAE and power demand as of 2014 is currently around 10GW. There are many challenges facing the country that need immediate actions. Population and economic growth are on the rise which will result in an increase in both energy and water demands. The UAE’s CO2 emissions and water use per capita are some of the highest in the world. The UAE now imports gas for fuel and adding further pressure to the power sector in the future in terms of fuel cost. Currently, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are tackling the challenges by setting renewable energy targets and increasing the electricity and water tariffs. There is a need to identify the different potential energy strategies that will reduce fossil fuel demand and reduce CO2 emissions. This thesis will focus more on the Emirate of Abu Dhabi by identifying the different energy mix strategies for potential energy savings to reduce fossil fuel demand and hence CO2 emission reductions for both power generation (supply side) and energy consumptions (demand side). The potential renewable energy power generation technologies include solar PV and CSP, Wind, and Waste-to-Energy. Nuclear power is also being considered as a clean technology that will reduce CO2 emission. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is another potential mitigation strategy to reduce the environmental impact from fossil fuel power generation which is mostly coming from gas fired power stations. The thesis will also consider electricity demand reduction strategies in commercial and residential building only. Energy reduction strategies in buildings include air tightness, cooling temperature set point, chiller COP, glazing, and opaque partition insulation. The time horizon of the study is 2015-2030. Many scenarios were developed to give a clear potential for fossil fuel savings and CO2 emission reductions for the next 15 years in Abu Dhabi. Some scenarios indicated that using both clean technologies and building retrofits will significantly improve the energy efficiency. For example, some results show that by 2030 Abu Dhabi can achieve CO2 emission reductions by 60% and fuel saving reach 62%. The study also looked at the policy implications for implementing the above mentioned strategies.

Date of Award	May 2015
Original language	American English
Supervisor	TOUFIC Mezher (Supervisor)