ABU DHABI, UAE (1 March 2015)—A report from the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has identified the need for innovative approaches to financing energy infrastructure to meet future demand. The report discovered the following results: • Energy demand in the Gulf to triple in the next fifteen years far outstripping today’s supply. • Closing the global energy gap will require US$48 trillion of investment over the next 20 years in projects that provide additional energy generation capacity and improve the efficiency of energy use. • More than half of the investment in new electricity generation worldwide is in renewables – solar PV will be at price grid parity in 80% of countries in the next two years. • Gains made from energy efficiency are as great as the benefits of increased generation – with some industrial applications of energy efficiency delivering 100% payback in five years. • This puts the Gulf at the centre of a significant new opportunity in energy. These findings are set out in the "NBAD: Financing the Future of Energy Report," which was launched at the Global Financial Markets Forum in Abu Dhabi. The report, commissioned by NBAD from the University of Cambridge and PwC, and in collaboration with Masdar, sets out the changing nature of the global energy mix over the next decade, which will see an increased contribution from renewables. The report highlights the growing demand for sustainable energy; the technologies that are most likely to close the supply-demand gap; and the scale of financing required. In response to the scale of the opportunity set out in the research, NBAD has established a dedicated team, under senior leadership, to evaluate and create new financing products that will support the development of renewable energy. The team will embark on an engagement program with key regulators, policy makers and industry players to capture up to date market trends and promote continued partnership and shared learning between the renewables and finance industries.
Wed, 03/04/2015 - 15:57