Mitsubishi Power Sees UAE Electricity Use Rising More Than 75% by 2033

Cavada linked the expected growth to wider electrification, industrial modernisation and the computing and storage needs of data centres. He said data centre capacity in the UAE and the wider region will be about four times its current size within the next four to five years.

He called rising global power demand the industry's "biggest opportunity" and also its "biggest challenge", because utilities have to plan today's systems for future needs that will look different.

Renewables Need Backup

Cavada said about 32 per cent of Abu Dhabi's electricity in 2025 came from renewable sources, mainly solar. He argued that renewables alone cannot supply round-the-clock power to data centres and heavy industries such as aluminium, steel and cement, especially at night. By his estimate, every 10 gigawatts of new wind and solar capacity calls for another 10 gigawatts of backup capacity, 10 gigawatts for balancing and 10 gigawatts to cover peak demand.

He said new thermal generation capacity under construction worldwide was about 30 gigawatts a decade ago and passed 100 gigawatts last year, and that it is likely to exceed four times the earlier level soon. Solar, hydro and wind still provide less than 20 per cent of global electricity generation, he said.

Mitsubishi Power has led the global market for advanced-class gas turbines for four years in a row, Cavada said, and the UAE accounts for a large share of that business. The company has worked in the UAE for more than 20 years and has run an assembly facility in Abu Dhabi for more than 15. He described its growth over the past three years as exceptional and said it has orders from the region still to be announced, along with orders in Europe, the Americas and Asia.

Why It Matters

The remarks add a power supplier's view to a debate that ran through ADIPEC this week, about whether Gulf grids can keep pace with the AI data centre build-out. For investors and operators planning capacity in the UAE, Cavada's argument is that firm gas-fired generation will stay part of the mix alongside the country's large solar fleet.