meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Unlocking AI’s carbon conundrum

31 January 2025

 

This package also includes: Trump 2.0 targets technology

Abu Dhabi has recently launched a $6bn project that combines 5,200MW of solar and 19 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery energy storage capacity to deliver 1,000MW of round-the-clock renewable power capacity, a world first. 

The project addresses the intermittency of renewable energy, which UAE Industry & Advanced Technology Minister Sultan Al-Jaber describes as the “moonshot challenge” of our time.

The goal is to deliver clean baseload capacity much more quickly and at a lower price than a gas or nuclear power plant.

At approximately $60 a megawatt-hour, the project aligns with the mandate of Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) to deliver the lowest-cost energy transition.

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) will develop the project, which will help to boost its gross capacity, in line with expanding its renewable energy portfolio to 100GW by 2030.

Located on a land area of 90 square kilometres, the solar and battery project is due to become operational by 2027, Masdar’s chief operating officer, Abdulaziz Alobaidli, said on 14 January.

This is in addition to the 1.5GW of annual renewable capacity that Ewec intends to procure until at least the mid-2030s, in line with decarbonising the emirate’s electricity system and reaching net zero by 2050.

Following the project’s launch, Masdar announced the preferred engineering, procurement and construction and other sub-
contractors for the scheme. 

AI and power link 

In December, the US government reportedly approved the export of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips to a Microsoft-operated facility in the UAE, as part of the technology giant’s $1.5bn partnership with Mubadala-backed AI firm G42.

Three months earlier, in September, Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, deputy ruler of Abu Dhabi and national security adviser, met with Jake Sullivan, US national security adviser, in Washington to seal an agreement known as the Common Principles for Cooperation on AI, following a meeting between UAE President Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and then-US President Joe Biden.

The meeting took place a few days after US-based equity investment firm BlackRock announced a $100bn tech investment platform called Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership.

The fund’s partners include Mubadala-backed AI fund MGX, which aims to build $100bn in assets under management; US-based Global Infrastructure Partners; and Microsoft.

In January, MGX teamed up with US tech giant Oracle, Japan’s Softbank and ChatGPT creator Open AI to form the Stargate project, a joint venture that aims to invest $500bn in building AI infrastructure in the US over the next four years.

Abu Dhabi has not denied the link between its clean energy capacity buildout and the UAE’s national, and perhaps international, AI strategy.

A social media post on 14 January by President Mohamed Bin Zayed confirmed the 1GW solar plus battery project will directly support Abu Dhabi’s AI plans.

“The project will help power advancements in AI and emerging technologies, supporting delivery of the UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 and the Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative,” he said.

Investing in and developing AI infrastructure and applications at home and abroad is now a UAE government priority. It will create jobs and new revenues, and will boost efficiencies in every facet of governance and business.

“The UAE is well positioned [in the developing AI industry],” says Michael Liebreich, managing partner at UK firm EcoPragma Capital, noting that it has “the energy status, geographical advantage and regulatory framework”.

In light of a new US regulation made public in January that restricts access to US-made AI chips, he adds that “you don’t want to have a situation where the UAE will have to choose between one or the other”, referring to the ongoing power struggle over AI between China, an important energy and trade partner of the UAE, and the US, which is a vital political ally.

Investing in and developing AI infrastructure and applications … is now a UAE government priority

Choosing sides

It appears that this choice has been made previously, however.

In an interview in early 2024, G42 CEO Peng Xiao said that his firm is cutting ties with Chinese hardware suppliers in favour of US counterparts, adding: “We cannot work with both sides.”

In addition, in December, Axios – the US media outlet that reported the clearance of AI chip exports by the US to the Microsoft and G42 facility in Abu Dhabi – suggested that the deal is part of efforts by the US government to elbow China out of the UAE’s expanding tech industry.

In Abu Dhabi, Ewec is tasked not only with decarbonising its electricity system by integrating solar and nuclear plants into its gas-dominated power-generation fleets, but also with ensuring 24×7 clean and cheap baseload capacity gets delivered to a project that is a national priority.

An expanding AI industry will also increase the scope for environmental, social and governance (ESG) compliance.

While it is widely accepted that the use of advanced AI solutions such as large- or small-language models or agentic AI for industrial applications can enable some sectors to cut emissions, AI requires hyperscale data centres, and data centres generally are as polluting as the airline industry.

Although the high temperatures and water scarcity of the Middle East can be addressed by another ESG-sensitive industry – seawater desalination – these factors can lead data centres in the region to be more carbon positive than those in other geographies.

For this reason, Abu Dhabi’s 5.2GW/19GWh project is considered a major milestone, potentially blazing a trail that other regions can follow – assuming it is implemented on time and within budget, and despite opposing opinions on its technical and commercial feasibility.

Main image: Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, deputy ruler of Abu Dhabi and national security adviser, and Jake Sullivan, US national security adviser, signed a cooperation agreement on AI in September 2024. Credit: Wam

Trump 2.0 targets technology

READ MEED’s YEARBOOK 2025

MEED’s 16th highly prized flagship Yearbook publication is available to read, offering subscribers analysis on the outlook for the Mena region’s major markets.

Published on 31 December 2024 and distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the MEED Yearbook 2025 includes:

> GIGAPROJECTS INDEX: Gigaproject spending finds a level
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13353267/main.gif
Jennifer Aguinaldo

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Kuwait awards $381m oil project

    23 September 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    State-owned upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has awarded an oil project contract worth KD117m ($381m) to India’s Megha Engineering & Infrastructure (Meil).

    The Supreme Purchasing Committee for Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) approved the contract last month, paving the way for the official award.

    The project focuses on a water separation unit at the Al-Rawdatain facility in Kuwait.

    The water separation facility will be developed at Gathering Centre 25 (GC-25), along with a pumping facility at GC-30.

    The project will deliver a wide-ranging upgrade of processing and utility infrastructure, including new low-pressure separation and gas-handling equipment such as a three-phase wet separator package, a gas knock-out drum and associated low-pressure gas pipelines, as well as a high-integrity pressure protection system and a high-pressure flare.

    Meil will develop the new three-phase low-pressure wet separation facility at GC-25.

    The main process equipment will include two wet separator packages, each with a capacity of 150,000 barrels of liquid a day, and a low-pressure gas knock-out drum with a capacity of 53 million standard cubic feet a day, together with associated gas-handling facilities.

    The facility will also incorporate an effluent water treatment and transfer system, including an effluent water balance tank equipped with microbubble flotation and induced gas flotation systems, as well as transfer pumps.

    Additional GC-25 facilities will include fuel gas treatment, chemical injection, oil recovery and flare connections, along with firewater and deluge systems.

    The scope also covers control and safety systems, substations, and associated civil, structural, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation works.

    At GC-30, the project will focus on treated-water filtration and high-pressure injection infrastructure.

    The scope includes nutshell filters and associated feed pumps with a combined capacity of approximately 500,000 barrels of water a day.

    Booster and injection pumps will transfer treated effluent water to designated injection wells.

    Additional facilities at GC-30 will include fuel gas treatment, sludge collection and disposal systems, oil recovery systems, control and safety systems, substations, laboratory and workshop facilities, and associated civil, structural, piping, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation works.

    The project also includes transfer pipelines connecting GC-25, GC-15 and GC-30.

    Meil will carry out modifications to existing tanks at GC-30, as well as process and utility tie-ins, electrical and instrumentation modifications and other infrastructure required to integrate the new facilities with KOC’s existing assets.

    Meil’s responsibilities cover the project lifecycle from design and engineering through procurement, construction, testing, pre-commissioning, commissioning, start-up and performance testing.

    The contract also includes operation, maintenance, repair and insurance responsibilities for the designated facilities during the applicable operations and maintenance period.

    Seven companies submitted bids for the project last November.

    The full list of bids was:

    • Meil (India) – KD117m ($381m)
    • Mechanical Engineering & Contracting Company (Kuwait) – KD130m
    • Spetco (Kuwait) – KD158m
    • Al-Kharafi (Kuwait) – KD164m
    • China Oil HBP Science & Technology (China) – KD169m
    • Alghanim International (Kuwait) – KD169m
    • Jereh Oil & Gas Engineering (China) – KD191m

    In October last year, KOC awarded Meil a separate contract for a project to develop a gas sweetening and recovery facility in west Kuwait.

    Meil submitted the lowest bid for that tender, at KD69.2m ($225.5m), in February 2025.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19911322/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Kuwait refinery project on track for year-end completion

    23 September 2026

     

    A $65m project to replace a substation at the Mina Al-Ahmadi (MAA) refinery is on schedule to be mechanically complete before the end of the year, according to industry sources.

    The project is being executed by India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T), which was awarded the contract in October 2024.

    One source said: “This project is approaching completion and is currently on schedule to be completed before the end of the year, although it could still see delays related to the ongoing regional conflict.”

    The client is state-owned downstream operator Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC).

    Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water & Renewable Energy (MEW) is also involved in the project and will provide final approvals and sign-off.

    The scope of the project includes:

    • Construction of a substation
    • Installation of transformers
    • Installation of medium-voltage switchgear
    • Installation of low-voltage auxiliary systems
    • Installation of network protection systems
    • Installation of disconnecting switches
    • Installation of surge arrestors
    • Installation of feeder breakers and cubicles
    • Installation of low-voltage A/C and D/C equipment
    • Installation of battery banks and battery chargers
    • Installation of related relay and control panel boards
    • Installation of fire alarm and fire protection equipment
    • Installation of a SCADA system
    • Installation of cables
    • Civil works
    • Associated facilities

    The current project to replace a substation at the MAA refinery closely resembles another project tendered by KNPC more than a decade ago, which L&T also won.

    On 18 May 2015, KNPC signed a contract with L&T to build a new 240MW substation at the MAA refinery, valued at KD21.866m.

    The new substation, known as M20, was designed to replace an existing substation that was considered old and obsolete.

    Mohammed Al-Mutairi, who was KNPC’s chief executive at the time, said the substation building would be explosion-proof and use state-of-the-art control systems.

    He said the station’s capacity would increase from 180MW to 240MW, supplying most of the refinery’s electricity needs.

    Given the similarities between the two projects, L&T has been able to reuse some designs, creating efficiencies, according to industry sources.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19911319/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Contractor wins $208m Almoosa hospital MEP contract

    23 September 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Riyadh-based construction firm BEC Arabia has won a SR781m ($208m) contract for the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) works at Almoosa Hospital in Al-Khobar.

    Saudi Arabia’s Almoosa Health Company awarded the contract.

    The hospital complex consists of two towers: a 24-storey in-patient tower with 380 beds, and an 11-storey tower with 224 clinics and 113 additional treatment spaces.

    It will be built on a 45,000-square-metre site.

    A podium spanning the ninth and 10th floors will connect the two towers.

    The hospital will also include parking for 1,700 cars.

    BEC Arabia won the SR656m ($175m) main construction contract for the hospital in November last year.

    In August 2025, MEED reported that Almoosa Health Company had announced it had secured a sharia-compliant credit facility worth SR650m ($173m) from Banque Saudi Fransi.

    In a statement published on the Saudi stock exchange (Tadawul), the company said the seven-year facility would be used to support its expansion and growth strategy.

    Lebanon’s Dar, US-based Perkins&Will and French design firm Pierre-Yves Rochon designed the project.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19910889/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • UAE to develop integrated waste-to-resource pilot

    23 September 2026

    Emirates Biotech and United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) have launched a pilot project in Al-Ain that could provide a model for larger waste-to-resource facilities.

    The project involves developing the UAE’s first integrated organic-waste valorisation pilot plant, which will test whether food waste and compostable packaging can be processed together to recover resources and reduce waste sent to landfill.

    Located near the UAEU campus, the 40kg-a-day facility will process organic waste to produce renewable biogas and nutrient-rich compost. The project is intended to generate technical and operating data that could support the development of larger-scale facilities.

    Emirates Biotech and UAEU will design, build and operate the pilot plant as part of a two-year research project running from August 2026 to August 2028. Installation and commissioning are expected to be completed by August 2027.

    The plant will combine anaerobic digestion and composting. Anaerobic digestion will convert the organic waste into renewable biogas, while the resulting digestate will be composted to produce nutrient-rich compost.

    A laboratory-scale assessment will also examine the potential to convert the biogas into renewable hydrogen.

    Food waste accounts for nearly 40% of daily municipal solid waste in the UAE, according to Emirates Biotech, and much of it is currently disposed of in landfills.

    The pilot will therefore assess the technical and operational feasibility of recovering value from two waste streams through a single integrated process.

    If successfully scaled, Emirates Biotech says an integrated organic-waste valorisation plant could reduce CO₂ emissions by 89% compared with landfilling.

    The project is expected to provide a scalable and modular model for converting food waste and compostable packaging into renewable biogas and compost, with the findings intended to inform the development of larger waste-to-resource facilities.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19908972/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Contractors prepare Oxagon Highway 55 bids

    23 September 2026

     

    Contractors are preparing to submit bids on 28 September for a design-and-build contract for permanent upgrade works on Highway 55 in the kingdom’s Oxagon region.

    The first phase of the project includes constructing 14 kilometres of road, with two lanes in each direction. It also includes one bridge and three interchanges.

    The project duration is 22 months.

    Highway 55 connects the Red Sea coast with the mainland in northwestern Saudi Arabia. It is currently the only road providing north-south connectivity between Duba and the Neom region.

    MEED reported exclusively in August 2025 that contractors had submitted responses to an expression of interest notice that Neom had issued earlier that month.

    The project is expected to support cargo movement from Duba Port to other parts of the kingdom and the wider region.

    Last year, Neom tested a pilot initiative by handling a shipment that travelled from Cairo via the Port of Safaga, across the Red Sea to the Port of Neom, and then inland to Erbil, Iraq.

    In a statement, Neom said: “The shipment travelled through an intermodal corridor spanning over 900 kilometres, marking a significant milestone in the kingdom’s transformation into a regional and global logistics hub.”

    The Port of Neom is located on the Red Sea near the Arar border, a key entry point into Iraq.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19907876/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal