EWEC to recycle plants to support Abu Dhabi decarbonisation, grid stability
Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), the sole procurer and supplier of water and electricity in Abu Dhabi, is implementing a strategy to recycle existing power and water plants as part of its broader clean energy transition plan.
The approach was detailed by Mark Hedges, EWEC's Executive Director of Asset Management, during a panel discussion at The World Utilities Congress held in Abu Dhabi from 27–29 May 2025.
The EWEC executive explained that while clean energy initiatives often focus on innovation and new infrastructure, repurposing existing plants offers a practical pathway toward decarbonisation.
'We're actually converting [old plants] to standby power, but power only. They're running a very small part of the time just to stabilise the grid,' he said.
Last month, EWEC extended Shuweihat S1 power and water plant's Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) by 15 years under a plan to decommission its water desalination operations and convert it into a natural gas-fired open-cycle power plant.
Commissioned in 2005 with 1.5 gigawatts(GW) of power and 455,000 cubic metres/day (m3/day) of water production capacity, Shuweihat S1 is operated by Sumitomo Corporation in partnership with TAQA and ENGIE.
As the first project in the UAE to undergo long-term extension through plant conversion, the reconfigured plant will operate on-demand with a reduced capacity of 1,130 megawatts (MW), contributing to lower CO₂ emissions.
According to Hedges, the repurposing strategy offers multiple benefits:
Efficiency gains: Redirecting steam from water production to power generation improves overall system efficiency.
Cost savings: Recycling avoids the capital expense of building new high-emission plants with 25–30-year life spans, and potentially conflict with the UAE's 2050 net-zero goals. 'We don't really want to commit to a brand-new plant that has a lifetime that's either too long or we have to curtail it… then the cost goes up because you're paying it off over a short period,' he explained.
Grid stability: Having standby power capacity enhances the stability and reliability of the grid and accommodate growing share of variable renewable energy.
"This recycling of plants, which is a life extension project, is really good for the system,' he said.
EWEC's recycling strategy aligns with its commitment to delivering electricity and water through a lower-carbon grid. On the desalination front, the company is shifting towards reverse osmosis (RO) technology for water production, replacing conventional thermal desalination.
'All of our water now is produced by RO osmosis driven by a decarbonising power grid,' Hedges noted.
In its Statement of Future Capacity Requirements 2024–2030, EWEC projected that over 7 GW of power and more than 2 million m3/day of water capacity will reach the end of existing contracts by 2037. The company plans to reconfigure and extend plants reaching contract expiry, with contract extensions expected to add nearly 3.5GW of power capacity by 2030, rising to just over 6GW by 2035.
(Writing by Rajiv Pillai; Editing by Anoop Menon)
(anoop.menon@lseg.com)
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