Energy in the United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a country that uses a lot of energy, like electricity and fuel, to power its homes, businesses, and cities. It has a big amount of oil underground—about 7% of all the oil that we know exists in the world. In 2009, the UAE used a huge amount of energy, equal to 693 trillion watt-hours.

Right now, the UAE is making big changes to how it makes electricity. In the past, almost all of its electricity came from power plants that burn gas. But the country is working hard to change this. The goal is to use only clean energy sources like sunlight, wind, and nuclear power. This helps to cut down on pollution and keep the air cleaner. The UAE is also setting up places where people can charge cars that don’t use fuel but batteries instead, called electric vehicles. These changes are important for the future of the planet and for making sure the UAE has plenty of energy for many years to come.

Overview

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has a lot of oil. It holds about 7% of all the oil in the world, which is around 100 billion barrels. In 2009, the country used 693 TWh of energy, which means a lot of power for homes, businesses, and more.

Energy in the United Arab Emirates
	Population million	Prim. energy TWh	Production TWh	Export TWh	Electricity TWh	CO₂-emission Mt
2004	4.32	510	1,907	1,273	49.0	103
2007	4.37	601	2,074	1,267	70.5	131
2008	4.48	680	2,100	1,196	75.8	147
2009	4.60	693	1,963	1,084	79.5	147
2010	7.51	723	2,050	1,129	83.0	154
2012	7.89	769	2,211	1,246	83.8	166
2012R	9.21	785	2,260	1,252	93.7	171
2013	9.35	809	2,345	1,316	98.6	168
Change 2004-10	73.8%	41.8%	7.5%	11.3%	69.5%	49.4%
Mtoe = 11.63 TWh, Prim. energy includes energy losses 2012R = CO₂ calculation criteria changed, numbers updated

Oil production

Main article: Oil reserves in the United Arab Emirates

A map of world oil reserves according to U.S. EIA, 2017

In June 2010, the United Arab Emirates had the 6th largest amount of oil in the world, with about 100 billion barrels. It was behind Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait. The UAE produced more than 4 but less than 5 million barrels of oil each day.

The UAE was the 4th largest exporter of oil in 2008 and the 10th largest producer in 2009.

Gas production

The United Arab Emirates has the 7th largest amount of natural gas in the world, with more than 6 trillion cubic metres. In 2009, the whole world produced 3 trillion cubic metres of natural gas.

Solar

Main article: Solar power in the United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates has great potential for solar power, and its energy plans have changed a lot because solar has become cheaper. By November 2023, after turning on the big Al Dhafra solar project, the UAE had more than 5 gigawatts of solar power. In 2014, it only had 133 megawatts. Solar energy made up 4.5% of the country's electricity in 2022 and grew to 8.3% by 2023, up from just 0.3% in 2014.

Nuclear

Main article: Nuclear power in the United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates is building nuclear power plants to help provide electricity. The country has agreements with the U.S. for nuclear cooperation and follows international rules to keep nuclear power safe.

As of March 2024, four new nuclear reactors at the Barakah Nuclear station are fully working. They create a lot of electricity—about 5,348 megawatts—and help the UAE make 40 terawatt-hours of electricity each year.

Climate change

The United Arab Emirates was one of the top places in the world for releasing a lot of carbon dioxide per person in 2009. The country has started working hard to lower these emissions.

The UAE plans to get half of its electricity from the sun and nuclear power by 2050. They also want to add more electric cars to the roads and are working on new energy projects.