Arab states building coal plants in the desert.

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A growing population and underequipped power sector have left Egypt with a continual energy shortage, with summer blackouts and regular shortfalls a fact of life since 2011. As part of its response, Egypt plans to build a major new coal plant at Hamrawein on the Red Sea. The government announced last month that it had received three competing offers from international consortiums including companies from China, Japan, and the United States to build the 6 gigawatt facility.

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While Israel aims to fully expel coal from its energy mix by 2030, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Jordan, Turkey and Iran all have plans for new coal capacity. 

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What’s feeding all of this demand? Concerns over energy security, but also a broader need to power growth. Dubai, as the Gulf region’s most innovative hub, is reluctant to spend on importing energy from other emirates. Egypt sees a need to manage demand for natural gas; the recently announced deal to import $15 billion-worth of gas from Israel’s Leviathan and Tamar fields is another. Ankara is understandably reluctant to continue depending on Russia’s supply of fully half of Turkey’s natural gas. In each case, coal is seen as driving sustained energy diversification.

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