# A Review on Solar Energy Utilization and Projects: Development in and around the UAE
## 4 Electricity Production and Consumption from Seven Emirates of the UAE  
Four main utilities have been established to generate electricity in the UAE, namely [68; 69; 70; 71]:  
1. DoE: Department of Energy (previously known as ADWEA-Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority), under the Emirate of Abu Dhabi;
2. DEWA: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, under the Emirate of Dubai;
3. SEWGA: Sharjah Electricity Water & Gas Authority, under the Emirate of Sharjah;
4. EWE: Etihad Water and Electricity Authority (previously known as the Federal Electricity and Water Authority, FEWA), under the Emirates of Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, and Umm Al Quwain. Each utility has its own rate structure, planning, and investment processes [72; 73; 74; 75]. Electricity consumption for each authority from 2013 to 2016 is shown in Figure 13. The DoE authority has the highest consumption of electricity with around 224,372 GWh, i.e., 47.6%, followed by 157,244 GWh for DEWA (33.4%), 44,153 GWh for SEWGA (9.4%), and 45,063 GWh for EWE (9.6%) [76; 77]. Figure 14 shows the electricity capacity (MW) of these four authorities from 2007 to 2016. It is clearly shown that electricity capacity increased from 2007 to 2016 due to an increase in demand for electricity. DoE has a 129,056 MW capacity, i.e., 51.8%, followed by 83,817 MW for DEWA (33.7%), 26,451 MW for SEWGA (10.6%), and 9411 MW for EWE (3.8%). Moreover, these four emirates authorities have increased their capacity to 28,761 MW in 2016 from 17,700 MW in 2007. Figure 15 shows the gross generated electricity by each authority from 2007-2016 [78]. Only the DoE and DEWA authorities have increased their gross generated electricity, from 38,592 GWh (2007) to 80,527 GWh (2016) and 26,030 GWh (2007) to 43,091 GWh (2016), respectively, whereas SEWGA and EWE have reduced gross electricity generation from 8968 GWh (2007) to 5684 GWh (2016) and 5171 GWh (2007) to 292.54 GWh (2016), respectively, which is due to less investment in the electricity sector. DoE has a gross generated electricity of 586,099 GWh, i.e., 57.1%, followed by 352,951.95 GWh for DEWA (34.4%), 64,241.86 GWh for SEWGA (6.3%), and 24,405.14 GWh for EWE (2.4%) [79; 80]. Figure 16 shows the import-export electricity quantity by country from 2012 to 2016. Figure 12: Price history of PV modules. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [67]. Figure 14: Electricity capacity in DEWA, DoE, SEHA, EWE (MW) [81]. Figure 13: Consumed electricity (GWh) by authority [81]. Hence, in the recent decade, the UAE's energy power generation and consumption from these authorities have expanded considerably. This electricity has mostly been produced by natural gas-fired power stations in the UAE, which pollute the environment, particularly in terms of CO\({}_{2}\) emissions and other greenhouse gases. This situation is projected to improve in the next few years. To avoid this, governments, businesses, and the general public must acknowledge that the prioritization of climate change problems as a top priority in economic and social growth processes is inescapable. As a result, the UAE government must encourage a diverse energy mix in which electricity may be generated from all traditional energy sources, including sustainable energy, nuclear, and coal power. Electricity Tariffs from AuthoritiesElectricity pricing ranges greatly among the administrations of these four emirates, including within sectors such as residential, commercial, industrial, agriculture, and between UAE residents and expats. For example, in the Abu Dhabi emirate, the rate of electricity in fils/kWh (1 fil = 0.027 USD) increased slightly from 2016 to 2017. For residential customers-expats it is 21-26.8 fils, for residential customers-UAE nationals it is 5.5-6.7 fils, for the agriculture class, including ranches, it is 3-4.5 fils, for fisheries and livestock it is 16-20 fils, and for industrial consumers it is 16-28.6 fils (below 1 MW) [82; 83; 84].