Abu Dhabi: The UAE oil potentials amounted to 8.5 per cent of global oil wealth, ranking fifth at the international level while its natural gas deposits which approximately account for 3.3 per cent of the world’s total proven gas resources have pushed the UAE government to think of renewable energy to benefit from the rise in prices of hydrocarbon resources, said Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar at his lecture entitled: “The UAE and sustainable energy leadership” which was held at the Crown Prince’s Court on Monday.

Al Jaber said that this has prompted the UAE government to think of renewable energy to produce electricity to meet the rise in demand.

“In 2011, demand on electricity was 25 gigawatt while it is be more than doubled in 2030 to 54 gigawatt. On the other hand, demand on water has recorded 3 billion gallons per day in 2011 while it is expected to be more than 6.8 gallons per day by 2030,” added Al Jaber.

General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, asked Al Jaber to recall his experience with some countries when UAE officials toured to gain support from them to vote for the UAE to be International Renewable Energy Agency’s (Irena) headquarters.

“We have toured many places which we have no strong relations; to our surprise, they supported us because the Late Shaikh Zayed had been supporting these countries without openly telling about such assistance,” said Al Jaber.

He pointed out that the UAE aims to produce seven per cent of its electricity, for example, through alternative energy renewable energy by 2020, 25 per cent from nuclear energy and the remaining 68 per cent from gas.

“Should we use this mix of power sources, we will be saving from the period 2012-2030 more than $15 billion [Dh55 billion],” said Al Jaber.

He added that Masdar quickly showed its commitment to investing holistically to develop an entire industry.

“This decision was also the critical factor behind the support the UAE received in its successful bid to host the International Renewable Energy Agency headquarters in Abu Dhabi — the first inter-governmental organisation to be hosted in the Middle East,” said Al Jaber.

He stressed Abu Dhabi’s commitment to renewable energy and sustainable development was as strong as ever.

The CEO said: “The Shams 1 concentrating solar power plant in the western part of the emirate is near completion and will soon be supplying 100 megawatts of clean, renewable energy to the Abu Dhabi grid. We have learned that investment is a necessary vehicle for growth, but it is not a sufficient one.”

He reiterated that the UAE recognises that the demand side of the energy equation is as important as the supply side.

“The UAE has pioneered renewable energy and climate change mitigation in the region. And as evidenced by the recent activity around clean energy and climate change taking place around us, we have also positioned the region on the sustainability world stage,” said Al Jaber.

Abu Dhabi is now producing a rich harvest in the form of cleaner energy, new technologies, high-value jobs and a new leadership role for the region. We can all be proud of the progress that has been achieved and that has yet to be achieved,” said Al Jaber.

Attending the lecture were a number of Shaikhs, senior officials and the Latin American delegation who is taking part in the Arab-Latin Forum.