Dubai lifts clean power share

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority has raised clean energy’s share of its total production capacity to 21.5%, strengthening the emirate’s shift towards a lower-carbon electricity system as demand for power continues to rise across residential, commercial and industrial sectors.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of DEWA, said the increase reflects Dubai’s long-term strategy to align infrastructure growth with environmental sustainability, energy security and economic competitiveness. The gain has been driven mainly by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, where production capacity has reached 3,860 megawatts using photovoltaic solar panels and concentrated solar power technologies.

DEWA added 800MW of clean energy capacity during 2025 through the sixth phase of the solar park, moving Dubai closer to its interim targets under the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050. Both strategies aim to make all of Dubai’s energy production capacity come from clean sources by 2050, while maintaining reliability for one of the region’s fastest-growing urban economies.

Al Tayer said the UAE leadership attaches major importance to environmental sustainability, with clean energy projects forming part of a wider national development model that links climate action with investment, innovation and advanced infrastructure. He said the solar park has become a central pillar of Dubai’s energy transition and a practical platform for reducing carbon emissions without compromising supply security.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, located in the Seih Al-Dahal area of Dubai, remains the world’s largest single-site solar park developed under the Independent Power Producer model. Its expansion has helped DEWA diversify generation sources beyond natural gas, which has historically dominated the emirate’s power mix. The project has also reinforced Dubai’s position as a regional hub for utility-scale solar procurement, project finance and clean-energy technology deployment.

Dubai has raised the 2030 capacity target for the solar park to more than 8,000MW, up from the original 5,000MW plan. The higher target is expected to lift clean energy’s share of DEWA’s total capacity to about 36% by 2030 and cut more than 8.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually. The revision signals a faster pace of investment as the emirate seeks to balance climate commitments with rapid population growth, higher cooling demand and expanding economic activity.

The seventh phase of the solar park is expected to be one of the world’s largest solar-plus-storage developments. It is planned to add 2,000MW from photovoltaic solar panels, supported by a 1,400MW battery energy storage system with six hours of capacity, giving total storage of 8,400 megawatt-hours. The storage component is designed to strengthen grid flexibility and improve the ability to dispatch solar power after sunset, a key challenge for power systems with rising renewable penetration.

DEWA’s clean-energy expansion is also taking place against the backdrop of rising electricity output. The utility generated 62.21 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2025, up 5.10% from 2024, while clean power generation rose to 10.10 terawatt-hours. Clean energy accounted for 16.23% of total power generated during the year, underscoring the difference between installed capacity share and actual generation share in a system where solar output varies by time of day and season.

Peak power demand reached 11.39 gigawatts in 2025, reflecting Dubai’s continued urban expansion, industrial activity, data-centre growth, tourism demand and widespread air-conditioning use. DEWA has sought to manage this demand by combining new generation capacity with grid upgrades, smart-meter deployment and efficiency programmes aimed at reducing waste and improving system performance.

The utility’s transition strategy has also included concentrated solar power, green hydrogen trials and battery storage, broadening the technology base beyond standard photovoltaic generation. Its green hydrogen project at the solar park has produced hydrogen using solar power, offering a test case for future clean fuels in transport, industry and power applications.