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Power demand in MENA region set to double by 2050, forecasts Rystad Energy
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Electricity demand across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is expected to more than double by 2050 as economies diversify beyond oil and gas and new sources of consumption, including data centres, hydrogen and transport, drive the expansion of regional power systems.
Rystad Energy forecasts that MENA’s electricity demand will rise from 1,671 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2025 to 3,670 TWh by 2050. Installed power capacity is projected to increase even more sharply, quadrupling from 580 gigawatts (GW) to 2,328 GW over the same period.
The outlook highlights the scale of investment required in generation, transmission, distribution, storage and energy efficiency as governments and businesses prepare for rapidly rising electricity consumption.
Demand growth is expected to come from traditional residential and industrial users as well as emerging sectors. Data centres, hydrogen production, transport, commercial activity and public services are all expected to add to the region’s electricity requirements.
Carlos Torres Diaz, head of power at Rystad Energy, said the Middle East was entering a period of significant expansion in its power system, with renewable energy playing an increasingly important role.
He said nuclear power would remain a viable source of supply, while gas would continue to form part of the regional energy mix alongside renewables.
The UAE is expected to be at the forefront of the transition. Electricity’s share of the country’s final energy demand is forecast to rise from 17% in 2025 to 42% by 2050.
Solar power is also expected to expand rapidly. Its share of UAE electricity generation is projected to increase from 11% currently to 50% by 2050, while regional solar manufacturing is forecast to grow sevenfold by 2030.
The expansion is expected to be accompanied by greater investment in battery storage, helping power systems manage the intermittency of renewable generation and accommodate changing patterns of electricity consumption.
Aditya Saraswat, head of upstream research for MENA and the Caspian at Rystad Energy, said the UAE was developing supply alternatives across both conventional and renewable energy while seeking to maintain flexibility on the demand side.
The region’s energy transition is also creating opportunities for digital technologies. Artificial intelligence (AI) and digitalisation are expected to play a growing role in improving energy resilience and managing increasingly complex power systems.
The scale of the expected expansion is putting infrastructure and capital at the centre of the region’s energy outlook. Mark Ring, group director at Middle East Energy, said the growing participation of the investment community reflected the increasing capital required to develop and modernise power infrastructure.
The trends will be a major focus at Middle East Energy 2026, which takes place at Dubai World Trade Centre from September 1 to 3. The event’s 50th edition is expected to attract more than 35,000 energy professionals from nearly 120 countries and more than 1,500 exhibitors.
The event will cover power generation, transmission and distribution, storage and energy efficiency, with more than 210 speakers across five stages discussing AI, digitalisation, grid infrastructure, renewables and investment.
The expansion of MENA’s power sector points to a broader transformation of the region’s energy economy. While oil and gas will remain important, rising electricity demand and the rapid deployment of solar, storage and other low-carbon technologies are creating a substantially larger and more diversified power market by 2050.
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