The renewable energy capacity installed in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region reached 30.3 GW at the end of 2024, a 119% growth from 2020, according to the Renewables, Hydrogen, and Energy Storage Insights 2030 report by Dii Desert Energy.

The 6.3 GW installed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the highest in the region, followed by Egypt (4.6 GW) and Saudi Arabia (4.5 GW). UAE recorded the highest installed capacity despite fewer projects than Egypt, mainly due to the establishment of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

Solar

MENA has an installed solar power capacity of 22.3 GW, of which 5 GW was in the UAE, with Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park contributing 1.5 GW. The 2 GW Al Dhafra project in Abu Dhabi is one of the world’s largest single-site solar projects.

The region is projected to have over 600 MW of industrial/commercial rooftop solar installations by the end of 2024.

Saudi Arabia has the largest number of under-construction projects with multiple giga-scale initiatives, including the 2,030 MW Al Shuaiba 2, the largest project to date. Oman expects to commission its Manah 1 and 2 projects in 2025, each with 500 MW capacity.

Wind

The region has a total wind power capacity of 6.2 GW. Egypt and Morocco each have over 2 GW installed, the highest in the region. The UAE installed 100 MW wind projects in four sites in 2023.

MENA has about 15 GW of wind projects under development. This capacity includes UAE-based Masdar’s recent land access agreement for a 10 GW project in Egypt.

Hydrogen Projects

The region has 117 hydrogen projects in the pipeline, increasing from 75 projects in 2023. Nearly 90% of the projects are green hydrogen, and the remaining 10% are blue hydrogen projects. These projects are expected to generate between 30 to 40 million tons of production capacity annually.

Egypt has a pipeline of 29 hydrogen projects, the highest in MENA.

The region’s planned electrolyzer capacity is between 200 GW to 230 GW, with project commissioning expected beyond 2030.

Energy Storage

MENA has nine operational energy storage projects with a total storage capacity of 13,000 MWh. Most of these projects include battery energy storage systems (BESS). They also include two thermal energy storage systems.

Eleven projects in the region, comprising mostly of BESS and two pumped hydro storage systems, are under development.

The new additions will push MENA’s storage capacity by 16,750 MWh. Saudi Arabia has the highest number of projects under construction. Its 500 MW/2,000 MWh Bisha BESS project was commissioned in January 2025.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Morrocco are tendering projects with a cumulative capacity of 25,000 MWh.

All newly announced projects in the region are BESS-based.

Outlook for 2030

The 2030 renewable energy target (solar and wind) is 236 GW. If all projects announced and under development were successfully commissioned, 131 GW of renewable capacity could be installed in the region by 2030.

The solar photovoltaic (PV) deployment goal is 115 GW while the current project pipeline including existing installations amount to 75 GW. In the next five years, 40 GW of solar projects need to be planned and executed to reach the target.

The onshore wind installation target is 75 MW while the existing pipeline totals 50 GW including 20 GW from two mega projects in Egypt (10 GW each).

There is no specific target set for concentrated solar power (CSP), however considering the operational and planned projects, 5 GW of CSP projects could be installed by 2030 and 2 GW of offshore wind.

There also a 39 GW installation aim for which a preferred technology has not been specified. They would need to be developed to meet the 2030 MENA target.

Countries in the MENA region have renewable energy deployment goals by 2030.

Saudi Arabia is expected to contribute nearly half of the MENA target (100-130 GW) of renewables by 2030 and a share of 45-50% in the energy mix. Oman expects to reach its target of 30% generation capacity (3.8 GW) installed by 2028. Egypt aims to install 45 GW of renewable energy, with 28 GW coming from wind by 2030.

The report proposes three different trajectories for renewables deployment in the MENA region up to 2030.

In a conservative scenario, the region will achieve 131 GW; in a balanced scenario,165 GW; and in the best-case scenario, 290 GW.

MENA also aims to produce 10 MTPA of green hydrogen. The target is to produce about 10 million tons of hydrogen annually by 2030, most of which will be green hydrogen. The region requires roughly 128 GW of additional renewable energy capacity to achieve this target.

More than 110 hydrogen projects have been announced in MENA, with combined renewable energy requirements of over 450 GW. However, the timeline for the completion of these projects extends beyond 2030.

With renewable energy projects expanding across the region, energy storage has started gaining traction in the MENA region.

In 2024, TotalEnergies and Aljomaih Energy & Water Company secured a 25-year power purchase agreement with the Saudi Power Procurement Company for the 300 MW Rabigh 2 solar project in Saudi Arabia.