Dh635 million for UAE’s energy projects

More than 10 per cent of the UAE's foreign aid funding last year focused on energy generation and supply.

Almost 11 per cent of the UAE’s foreign aid last year went towards energy projects.

The sector received Dh635 million in aid, more than any other apart from health and general assistance.

Grants included Dh221m for the development of solar systems in Mauritania and Afghanistan.

In Mauritania’s capital Nouakchott, Masdar provided Dh164m to build a 15-megawatt solar power station that will increase the country’s electricity capacity by 10 per cent.

Each year the station, named after Sheikh Zayed, will prevent 21,225 tonnes of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere, according to Masdar. The country faces severe energy shortages and has relied solely on diesel generators for its national grid capacity of 144 megawatts.

In Afghanistan, 600 households in eight isolated villages will be provided with electricity by a solar energy project on which Masdar spent Dh57m.

The projects were part of Masdar’s support for the UN’s Year of Sustainable Energy for All. The global initiative aims to improve energy efficiency and promote the use of renewables.

A solar energy plant in Tonga and a wind plant in the Seychelles received funding from the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.

* This story has been modified to clarify that the aid given was in dirhams and not dollars and originally stated.