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AI underpins 5GW Abu Dhabi solar project

17 January 2025

Commentary
Jennifer Aguinaldo
Energy & technology editor

The 5,200MW solar photovoltaic (PV) and 19 gigawatt-hour (GWh) battery energy storage system (bess) project in Abu Dhabi is the first in the world to attempt to deliver 1GW of renewable energy round-the-clock, equivalent to the baseload capacity usually provided by a combined-cycle gas turbine or nuclear power plant.

It is also probably the first renewable energy or energy transition project of such scale, taking around six months from the initial concept to the actual award of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts.

If the rapid pace of the preceding development stages is anything to go by, Masdar and its co-investors will likely push to reach financial close on the project quickly.

The most important question now is why there is such a hurry behind the project, given that without it, the state utility, Emirates Water & Electricity Company – through its 1.5GW annual solar PV procurement plan – is on track to reach its 2030 and longer-term 2050 energy production mix.

The answer, in part, lies in a social media post by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan on 14 January.

As well as being an important milestone in the UAE’s journey towards net zero, he said the project “will help power advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies, supporting the delivery of the UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 and the Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative”.

The project provides a glimpse of the scale and scope of Abu Dhabi’s AI ambitions, which other major shareholders – mainly Abu Dhabi AI firm G42 and its parent firm ADQ – are driving. 

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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