DUBAI: Dubai is studying the possibility of using “clean coal” technology and nuclear power to generate a significant portion of its electricity as it aims to diversify its power sources, a senior energy official said Wednesday. Saeed Mohammed Al-Tayer gave few specifics on the projects. The vice chairman of the city-state's Supreme Council of Energy spoke about the plans while announcing a global energy forum slated for April. Dubai, one of seven semiautonomous states in the United Arab Emirates, currently generates nearly all its power by burning natural gas. A building boom pushed the emirate's power needs sharply higher in recent years as row upon row of air-conditioned skyscrapers filled the skyline. Although the UAE is a member of OPEC and one of the world's largest oil producers, it has to import gas to meet demand. The federation, which sits on 100 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, has struggled to provide enough power to consumers in certain pockets of the country during the hot summer months. Dubai itself has few oil reserves of its own. It announced the discovery of its first new offshore oil field in decades in February, but has provided few details on the find since. Al-Tayer, chief executive of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, the emirate's power supplier, said diversification of energy supplies is an important goal for the city-state. He suggested that “clean coal” and nuclear power each had the potential to provide up to 20 percent of the city-state's power needs in the coming years. “Clean coal” technology aims to reduce coal's harmful emissions. Dubai does not have significant coal deposits and would need to import the fossil fuel. The Emirates' federal government is spending $20 billion to build the country's first nuclear power plant in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, which is eager to establish itself as a center for green energy technology. It hopes to bring the first 1,400-megawatt reactor online by 2017 and the remaining three by 2020. Al-Tayer wouldn't say whether Dubai would rely on that project for its nuclear energy or might consider pursuing its own reactors. Dubai set up the Supreme Council of Energy last year to plan for the emirate's future power needs. Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu completed his one-day visit to United Arab Emirates. He had a meeting with Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
