Power demand has increased on an average by 9.4 per cent per annum in Abu Dhabi during the last five years as a result of new developments and increase in population, said a senior official.

Saeed Nassouri, technical advisor, Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (Adwea) said power demand is forecast to grow 11.9 per cent per annum until 2015.

Speaking at the at the Mena Power Conference in Abu Dhabi, he highlighted the need for efficiently building long-term capacity of future projects

The region will witness a massive wave of investments in the power and water sector, with the market expected to be worth $283 billion by 2018, according to business intelligence firm Meed.

“To ensure availability of power, Adwea has attracted $18 billion worth of investment to its independent power and water projects and extended our network length to over 5,800 km of transmission lines across Abu Dhabi.  Adwea ensures sustainability of our business in the long run by ensuring supply meets demand, delivering on customer’s expectations, while maintaining the highest standard in health, safety and environmental practices,” he said.

As many as 75GW of renewable energy projects worth $200 billion are already in the pipeline, making the region a global power player in the sector, he said.

The surge in investment is attributed is growing energy consumption in the Middle East, the highest in the world next to Asian countries. In the GCC, power generating capacity will need to rise by an estimated 64,000MW to 176,500MW by 2020, which at 2012 unit costs will require investment of $40-45 billion.

Meanwhile, data gathered by Meed showed $683 million more will be invested to water projects in the UAE and Lebanon this year. In 2014, more than $12.5 billion will be ploughed into water projects across Mena.

“The power and water sectors are two of the most active segments of the projects market in the Mena, with the GCC leading the way in terms of power and water projects. Stakeholders attending these conferences will have a clearer idea of the opportunities at stake, and how they can align their businesses to take advantage of increasing investments in power and water projects,” said Edmund O’ Sullivan, chairman, Meed events.

Other critical issues to be discussed include waste water reuse, energy efficiency and effective use of technology, by regional and international experts.

“Meeting the demand is only half the battle, ensuring that we have sustainable water and energy programmes is just as critical if are to handover the planet to future generations still capable of sustaining human progress,” added O’ Sullivan. - TradeArabia News Service