The UAE has emerged as the regional leader in renewable energy, with an installed capacity of 6.3 GW, surpassing Egypt’s 4.6 GW of installed capacity and Saudi Arabia’s 4.5 GW, according to a report (pdf) by Dii Desert Energy.

Despite having fewer than half of Egypt’s projects, the UAE’s higher installed capacity is driven by large-scale developments like the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is expected to reach 5 GW by 2030. The sixth phase — currently under construction — is set to add 1.8 GW to the grid, up from around 2.8 GW currently. Additional projects, such as Al Ajban and Khazna, will each contribute 1.5 GW to the national grid.

Currently, the UAE has 3.5 GW of renewable energy under construction, including 3.4 GW of solar PV, 200 MW of concentrated solar power (CSP), and 140 MW of onshore wind. The UAE Wind Program has already installed 103 MW across four sites, with further expansion underway.

Beyond solar and wind, the UAE is advancing in green hydrogen, targeting 1.4 mn tonnes per annum (Mtpa) by 2031 under its National Hydrogen Strategy 2050, of which 1 Mtpa will be from green hydrogen and 0.4 Mtpa from blue hydrogen. Two pilot projects are already operational, including Masdar and Emsteel’s green hydrogen pilot for iron extraction.

The country also has the largest number of operational energy storage projects in the region, with a total of four operational projects, two under development and one in the construction phase, the report said. Ewec’s 648 MWh project, which became operational in 2015, was the first in the region. The Noor Energy 1 TESS, part of the fourth phase of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, has a capacity of 5.9k MWh and is the largest thermal energy storage plant in the world.

Looking ahead, the UAE aims to install 19.8 GW of renewables capacity by 2030, according to the report.

Across the wider MENA region, total installed solar PV capacity has reached 22.3 GW, with the total number of renewables projects reaching 714 projects.

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