Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) intends to double the size of its planned coal-fired power plant.
Dewa had planned to build a 1,500 MW coal-fired power plant to reduce Dubai's heavy reliance on a steady supply of imported gas. But it now plans to double the size of the coal plant to help meet growing demands.
A Dewa executive reportedly said a feasibility study to determine the cost, technology and ownership structure of the 3,000-MW coal plant would take 3-4 months.
Dewa's CEO Saeed Mohammed al-Tayer stated that there should be no more power shortages for the next five years, in comments made to the press.
"Dubai has enough power and desalinated water for the next five years," al-Tayer said, adding the emirate would have nearly 10,000 MW of power production capacity by the end of 2011.
Dubai is home to nearly 2 million people and used around 33,000 GWh of electricity in 2010.
Al-Tayer expects demand to surge again in 2011. "I expect 5 per cent of growth but then it could be 7 per cent," he said.
Demand for electricity in Dubai peaked at 6,161 MW in summer 2010, up from 5,622 MW in 2009, according to the figures from Dewa's website
