A sustainable energy transition strategy for the United Arab Emirates: Evaluation of options using an Integrated Energy Model

• A sustainable energy transition for UAE is financially viable at current technological and price conditions.
• Renewable energy sources can be integrated successfully into the current UAE grid.
• Expanding desalinated water production should come from electricity-based desalination methods.
• Consistent sustainable energy policy and stakeholder realignment needed to achieve synergies in renewable energy deployment.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), despite its small size, is emerging into an influential player in global energy geopolitics. Perhaps counter intuitively, the UAE can successfully leverage a sustainable energy transition to strengthen its position as a global energy leader while providing tangible economic and environmental benefits. To be executed successfully, a sustainable energy transition (SET) requires a careful consideration of available options but also political alignment and popular buy-in. The existence of significant energy subsidies on the demand side differentiates the option space as well as the benefit structure of fossil fuel rich states from other nations that have already progressed toward high penetration of renewable energy. A techno-economic assessment of SET options based on a novel Integrated Energy Model (EIEM) indicates that, under plausible assumptions for fossil fuel costs, the benefits of SET outweigh implementation costs.