Major UAE Power Move Anchored in Carbon-Capture Ready CCGT

Emirates Water & Electricity Company has formally invited bids for a new combined-cycle gas turbine power plant—dubbed Taweelah C—designed to be carbon-capture ready. The facility, to be located within the Al Taweelah Power and Desalination Complex around 50 kilometres north-east of Abu Dhabi, is slated to deliver up to 2.5 gigawatts of electricity and is expected to commence commercial operations in the third quarter of 2028.

The Request for Proposals, issued in July 2024, outlines comprehensive technical and contractual parameters for consortiums and companies to prepare their submissions, which are due in the fourth quarter of 2024. Under the independent power producer model, successful developers will take charge of developing, financing, constructing, operating and maintaining the plant. Equity ownership for the winning consortium will extend up to 40 percent, while the balance will be held indirectly by the Abu Dhabi Government.

EWEC’s chief executive, Othman Al Ali, emphasised that natural gas remains a pivotal transition fuel as the UAE progresses towards its 2035 decarbonisation targets. He highlighted that Taweelah C’s high-efficiency and carbon-capture-ready technology will deliver crucial flexibility to the generation system while bolstering energy security.

This project forms part of Abu Dhabi’s broader strategy to enhance generation capacity amid a sweeping shift to low-carbon and renewable energy sources. EWEC is simultaneously advancing other major IPPs, such as the Al-Nouf 1 CCGT plant—expected to supply around 3.3 gigawatts by June 2029—and Madinat Zayed, an open-cycle gas turbine project slated for operations from the third quarter of 2027 with 1.5 gigawatts of backup generation capability.

These developments reflect a concerted effort to provision flexible, fast-responding capacity to complement renewable integration while safeguarding supply reliability. The Al-Nouf and Taweelah C initiatives, in particular, are aligned with the UAE’s artificial-intelligence infrastructure expansion, with the Al-Nouf plant playing a dedicated role in supporting the AI ecosystem.

Analysts and project partners note that embedding carbon-capture readiness into CCGT infrastructure marks a strategic tilt toward future decarbonisation. This readiness allows for potential retrofitting with carbon capture systems as technologies evolve and become more cost-effective. It also signals that fossil-fuel generation, even in transition, can be adapted to tighter emissions parameters as the energy mix shifts.

These gas-fired power plant projects arrive in tandem with an aggressive roll-out of renewable assets. Masdar and EWEC are progressing with the world’s largest “round-the-clock” solar-plus-battery system—comprising a 5.2 gigawatt solar photovoltaic array paired with 19 gigawatt-hours of battery storage to ensure continuous clean baseload power. Such investments demonstrate that the UAE is doubling down both on flexible gas and firm renewables—creating a dual-track approach to energy security and decarbonisation.

Financially, the IPP model cushions public finances by sharing development and operational risks with private consortiums, while ensuring long-term offtake via EWEC. This structure has proven successful in earlier projects and remains central to EWEC’s deployment strategy.