Emirates to migrate to solar-powered data centre
28 March 2025
Dubai’s Emirates Group will colocate its data centre with the Moro Hub, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority’s (Dewa) solar-powered data centre.
In a statement, Emirates Group said it expects to start relocating its data centre to Moro Hub from mid-2026.
Dewa inaugurated the first 6.5MW phase of the 100MW Moro Hub last year. The facility uses solar power from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Solar Park.
According to the Dubai-based aviation firm, the colocation signifies “a major shift for the Emirates Group’s robust technology infrastructure as the organisation prepares for its next big growth trajectory”.
Moro Hub will provide Emirates Group with colocation services, including rack space, power, cooling, equipment supply and other associated services.
Emirates said the move will help it switch its 3,000MW annual data centre energy consumption to a clean source.
Saeed Mohammed Al-Tayer, Dewa managing director and CEO, witnessed the signing of the agreement between Michael Doersam, Emirates Group’s chief financial and group services officer, and Marwan Bin Haidar, vice chairman and group CEO of Digital Dewa.
Dubai Crown Prince Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum inaugurated Moro Hub’s first phase in February 2023.
China-headquartered Huawei Technologies is the main contractor for the project’s first phase, which broke ground in December 2021.
MEED understands the data centre will be built in 10 phases.
The local firm Al-Shafar United for Electromechanical Engineering is the project’s mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractor.
Moro Hub’s technology partners include US-headquartered Dell Technologies, Microsoft and VMWare, in addition to Huawei.
At the time of its inauguration in 2023, Moro Hub said its key clients were Emirates NBD, Digital Dubai Authority and Dubai Islamic Bank.
The project consultants are Singapore-headquartered Meinhardt Group, local Emirates Engineering, the UK’s Sudlows and Dubai-based Moma International Design, according to regional projects tracker MEED Projects.
The project supports Dubai’s goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and the UAE’s 2031 Artificial Intelligence Strategy.
The Guinness World Records certified Moro Hub as the world’s largest solar-powered data centre in 2022.
Exclusive from Meed
-
Saudi Arabia’s growth trend heads up
1 April 2025
-
March 2025: Data drives regional projects
31 March 2025
-
Two bid for Madinat Zayed IPP contract
28 March 2025
-
Masdar completes Valencia solar deal
28 March 2025
-
Miahona wins $267m Modon wastewater plant deal
28 March 2025
All of this is only 1% of what MEED.com has to offer
Subscribe now and unlock all the 153,671 articles on MEED.com
- All the latest news, data, and market intelligence across MENA at your fingerprints
- First-hand updates and inside information on projects, clients and competitors that matter to you
- 20 years' archive of information, data, and news for you to access at your convenience
- Strategize to succeed and minimise risks with timely analysis of current and future market trends

Related Articles
-
Saudi Arabia’s growth trend heads up
1 April 2025
MEED’s April 2025 report on Saudi Arabia includes:
> GOVERNMENT: Riyadh takes the diplomatic initiative
> ECONOMY: Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economy forges onward
> BANKING: Saudi banks work to keep pace with credit expansion
> UPSTREAM: Saudi oil and gas spending to surpass 2024 level
> DOWNSTREAM: Aramco’s recalibrated chemical goals reflect realism
> POWER: Saudi power sector enters busiest year
> WATER: Saudi water contracts set another annual record
> CONSTRUCTION: Reprioritisation underpins Saudi construction
> TRANSPORT: Riyadh pushes ahead with infrastructure developmenthttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13578976/main.gif -
March 2025: Data drives regional projects
31 March 2025
Click here to download the PDF
Includes: Commodity tracker | Construction risk | Brent Spot Price | Construction output
READ THE MARCH MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF
Chinese contractors win record market share; Cairo grapples with political and fiscal challenges; Stronger upstream project spending beckons in 2025
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the March 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
> AGENDA 1: Chinese firms dominate region’s projects market> AGENDA 2: China construction at pivotal juncture> UPSTREAM 1: Offshore oil and gas sees steady capex> UPSTREAM 2: Saudi Arabia to retain upstream dominance> DIRIYAH: Diriyah CEO sets the record straight> SAUDI POWER: Saudi power projects hit record high> AUTOMOTIVE: Saudi Arabia gears up to lead Gulf’s automotive sector> EGYPT: Egypt battles structural issues> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf hits six-month growth streak> CONTRACT AWARDS: High-value deals signed in power and industrial sectors> ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projectsTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13578533/main.gif -
Two bid for Madinat Zayed IPP contract
28 March 2025
Abu Dhabi-based utility and offtaker Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) has received bids for a contract to develop and operate the Madinat Zayed open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) power generation plant project in the emirate.
According to industry sources, two teams led separately by France’s Engie and Saudi Arabia’s Aljomaih Energy & Water submitted bids for the Madinat Zayed OCGT independent power producer (IPP) project on 28 March.
Aljomaih is understood to have partnered with the local Etihad Water & Electricity (Etihad WE) for its bid.
The Madinat Zayed IPP is expected to begin commercial operations in Q3 2027. It will provide up to 1,500MW of backup generation, which can be operational “at very short notice”.
“Gas-fired plants like Madinat Zayed are key to ensuring a reliable energy supply while the country transitions to a decarbonised water and electricity system,” Ewec said when it issued the tender for the project in July last year.
“[This type of plant] will be particularly important for supporting the growth of solar power, providing crucial flexibility during peak power demand periods and acting as a bridge to a future powered exclusively by clean and renewable sources.”
Capacity buildout
Abu Dhabi’s current electricity generation installed capacity sits at about 22GW, with gas-fired plants accounting for 68.7% of the total, and renewable and nuclear power contributing 12% and 19%, respectively.
Construction work is under way for a 1,500MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant and a 2,457MW combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant.
Two solar IPPs with a combined capacity of 3,000MW are under bid evaluation or main contract bid, while the tendering proceedings are under way for the Taweelah C CCGT IPP, in addition to the Madinat Zayed OCGT.
The procurement processes are also under way for the 140MW Al-Sila wind IPP, the emirate’s first independent battery energy storage system plant, and another major CCGT, the 3.3GW Al-Nouf 1 project.
In January, Ewec and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) signed a power-purchase agreement for a 5,200MW solar PV plant with a 19 gigawatt-hour battery energy storage system, which is expected to provide round-the-clock solar power.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13579141/main.gif -
Masdar completes Valencia solar deal
28 March 2025
Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), through its Spanish subsidiary Satea, has closed an investment agreement for the construction and commissioning of solar photovoltaic installations with a total capacity of 234MW in Valencia, Spain.
The project has the potential to add a battery energy storage system with a capacity of 259MW, Masdar announced on 27 March.
A joint venture of Genia Solar Energy and Solar Ventures initially promoted the project.
The plant will be located in the municipalities of Ayora, Jarafuel and Zarra.
It is expected to be operational in the first half of 2027.
Watson Farley & Williams, G-advisory, EY and Finergreen advised Solar Ventures and Genia Solar Energy, while Broseta, Solida and Perez-Llorca advised Saeta Yield on the transaction.
In July last year, Masdar announced it had reached an agreement with Spanish utility company Endesa to become a partner for 2.5GW of renewable energy assets in Spain.
Masdar said at the time that it planned to invest €817m ($887m) to acquire a 49.99% stake, with an enterprise value of €1.7bn, representing one of Spain’s biggest renewable energy deals.
The portfolio that Masdar planned to acquire consisted of 48 operational solar plants with an aggregated capacity of 2GW.
Masdar and Endesa, a subsidiary of Italian energy giant Enel, said at the time that they aim to add 500MW of battery energy storage systems to the projects.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13578644/main.jpg -
Miahona wins $267m Modon wastewater plant deal
28 March 2025
Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (Modon) has awarded the local Miahona Company a contract for the construction and operation of an industrial wastewater treatment plant in Jeddah.
The contract is valued at SR1bn ($266.7m), Miahona said in a bourse filing on 26 March.
This project scope includes the rehabilitation, development, construction, operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment systems.
The wastewater treatment plant will be located in Jeddah 1st Industrial City.
According to Miahona, the project scope includes capital investment, land utilisation, service provision and revenue generation through treated water sales, within a 25-year rehabilitation, operation and transfer (ROT) framework.
Last year, Miahona Company and Belgium’s Besix won the contract to develop and operate the Al-Haer independent sewage treatment plant (ISTP) project in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Another local firm, Power & Water Utility Company for Jubail & Yanbu (Marafiq), subsequently joined the developer team.
The Al-Haer ISTP project involves the development of a water treatment plant with a capacity of 200,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).
It also includes the development of a treated sewage effluent (TSE) reuse system that covers a 32-kilometre pipeline with a capacity of 400,000 cm/d, a pumping station and TSE reservoir tanks with a capacity of 200,000 cubic metres.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13578624/main.jpg