UAE and Saudi Arabia target India and EU electricity exports

• Grid links to India a priority
• Further connections to Europe
• Follows renewable investments

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are advancing plans to increase their electricity exports, taking advantage of spare generating capacity after surging investment in solar and wind power and seasonal fluctuation in demand.

“The UAE, with around 50 percent spare capacity generation, is among the best-positioned countries to become an exporter of electricity,” Adnan Al Hosani, director of electricity and trade at the UAE ministry of energy, tells AGBI.

The Emirates’ clean energy portfolio, anchored by its 5.6 gigawatt (GW) Barakah nuclear plant and large-scale solar projects such as Noor Abu Dhabi, is set to nearly double in capacity by 2030, with more solar projects and a second nuclear plant in the pipeline, Hossani says.

This surplus also underpins plans to link the UAE’s grid to India via a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea cable. The project is under feasibility study, and could cost up to $6 billion, Hossani said.

Saudi Arabia has similar clean energy ambitions, with a target to develop 130 GW of renewable capacity by 2030. It also discussing developing nuclear power with the US.

“Saudi Arabia sees itself continuing as an energy exporter to the world – not just fossil fuels, but also electricity,” Andrew Shaw, vice president of the electrical division at Saudi-based Alfanar Group, told an energy conference in Dubai this month. 

Alfanar is the largest privately owned manufacturer of electrical and electronic products in Saudi Arabia.

The kingdom’s first subsea HVDC link to Egypt is expected to go online at 3 GW around June.

A connection to India is also envisaged. During a visit to Saudi Arabia this week Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Arab News that it was “working on feasibility studies for electricity grid interconnectivity between India and Saudi Arabia and the wider region”. 

Alamy

Gulf Arab states view electricity exports as a new revenue stream and a move toward cleaner, more efficient energy systems.

Electricity demand in the Gulf – with a population of about 60 million – is highest in the summer to power air-conditioning.

“It is a case of greater energy efficiency,” says economist and AGBI columnist Nasser Saidi. Integrated grids allow for larger plants and fuel cost optimisation, lowering per-unit costs, he says. 

The GCC Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) is expanding the power network and now connects the UAE and Kuwait. Oman is next in line for a link.

Cross-border power flows are helping countries such as Kuwait and Iraq to better manage chronic electricity shortages.

Kuwait, which imported power via the GCCIA network last summer, expects demand to exceed 19 GW this summer and will again tap regional supplies. Its own power-generating capacity is limited by its lack of access to natural gas fuel.

Iraq, where summer power deficits can reach up to 12 GW, is set to receive nearly 4 terawatt hours of power annually through a GCCIA connection with Kuwait. A second 1,000 megawatt link with Saudi Arabia is also planned.

Beyond the region several projects aim to send Middle Eastern electricity into Europe and Africa, through Cyprus and Greece.

• Adnoc strikes another LNG deal with Chinese energy major
• Foreign companies cash in as Gulf turns to smart power grids
• Abu Dhabi’s Taqa buys UK’s Transmission Investment

The UAE, for instance, has joined a $1 billion Mediterranean subsea initiative to transmit renewable power across the region. A subsea connection in the Adriatic would also link it with Italy and Albania.

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company – Taqa – has invested $100 million in Xlinks, a project that aims to connect Moroccan renewable power to the UK grid.

Other efforts, including the Elmed link between Tunisia and Sicily, seek to integrate North African and Gulf electricity into the European market.

“The Arab world could benefit from an EU-Arab interconnection in a case of supply surplus, which fits perfectly their case,” says Alessandro Armenia, energy analyst at Kpler, a market insights provider focused on energy and shipping.

“Their main entry points would be Greece or Italy, which have some of the highest and most volatile energy prices in the EU,” Armenia says. “The GCC could capture that value.”