Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) plans to scale Abu Dhabi’s solar power capacity to more than 35 GW by 2035 and deploy up to 15 GW of battery energy storage as electricity demand rises across the Emirates. EWEC has increased its 2030 solar capacity target to 14 GW from 10 GW. It has also raised its 2035 target from 18 GW to more than 35 GW. The capacity additions aim to support the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy’s Clean Energy Strategic Target 2035 and the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 initiative. The company expects changes to the power and water production mix to help reduce sector-wide carbon emissions by over 45% by 2035.

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) completed a $2.7 billion refinancing of Noor Energy 1, which comprises the fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The refinancing aims to lower financing costs and strengthen the project’s capital structure over its operating life. Noor Energy 1 has a combined capacity of 950 MW and incorporates photovoltaic and concentrated solar technologies, including parabolic trough systems.

El Gouna Red Sea, an integrated resort town, commissioned Solarize-2, an 8.6 MW solar power facility developed in partnership with SolarizEgypt. The latest addition takes El Gouna’s cumulative installed solar capacity to 15.8 MW. Its first solar facility, Solarize-1, accounts for about 7.2 MW of the total capacity. The expansion supports El Gouna’s plan to source more than 15% of its local energy requirements from renewable sources during 2026. Additional solar installations are also planned to increase the renewable energy share as the destination’s electricity requirements grow.

Saudi Arabia has 63.8 GW of renewable energy capacity across 53 projects in its tracked project pipeline as the country accelerates solar and wind development. Data from the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center’s (KAPSARC) Saudi Arabia Renewables Tracker shows significant growth in the country’s renewable energy sector. KAPSARC’s tracker covers operational, under-development, and tendered solar and wind projects and is updated monthly. According to the tracker, Saudi Arabia’s operational renewable energy capacity reached 19.3 GW in 2026, an over 63-fold increase from 2020 levels.