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Who will build Abu Dhabi’s solar and battery megaproject?

15 January 2025

Commentary
Jennifer Aguinaldo
Energy & technology editor

Abu Dhabi has confirmed plans to build a 5.2GW solar project with a 19gigawatt-hour (GWh) battery energy storage system (bess) to enable solar power as a 24-hour baseload capacity.

The project will help advance the development of AI and other emerging technologies, said UAE President Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

The $6bn question is who will codevelop and co-invest in the project, as well as build it, along with Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar).

MEED first reported on the planned round-the-clock solar plus bess project in October, when Masdar is understood to have approached international and regional utility developers and investors about the project.

At the time of writing, MEED understands that Masdar, backed by Mubadala and Adnoc, has shortlisted potential partners, including the most recognised names in the utility projects sector.

Discussions and negotiations with these potential partners are expected to continue over the coming weeks or months.

The unprecedented scale, ambition and prestige of the project will undoubtedly attract many companies.

The urgency of implementing it, given Abu Dhabi’s reputation for executing projects on time and within budget, could pose a challenge, particularly as a result of the volume of under-execution and planned renewable and bess projects not only in Abu Dhabi and Dubai but across the other GCC states, especially Saudi Arabia.

Despite the excitement around the project, however, some of the developers that Masdar approached are understood to have declined due to previously committed work and, to some extent, potential low returns from the project.

Nevertheless, it will be one of the major energy transition projects across the region and globally that will stay on top of the news in 2025 and possibly beyond.

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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