The UAE's renewable energy capacity has grown more than 63-fold in a decade, rising from just 129 megawatts in 2015 to over 8.2 gigawatts in 2025, according to figures presented at Middle East Energy 2026 in Dubai.
Sharif Al Olama, Undersecretary for Energy and Petroleum Affairs at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, delivered the keynote address at the event's 50th edition, framing the growth as part of a broader balancing act between clean power, energy security and continued economic growth.
Clean energy's growing share
Clean energy made up 32.4 percent of the UAE's electricity generation in 2025. The country is targeting a 35 percent share by 2031. Total installed clean energy capacity, spanning nuclear power, photovoltaic and concentrated solar power, wind, and waste-to-energy projects, reached 13,805 megawatts.
Al Olama said the sector's task goes beyond simply generating more electricity. "The challenge facing the energy sector extends beyond producing greater quantities of electricity. The priority is to build an energy system that is cleaner, smarter, more efficient and resilient while remaining capable of supporting economic growth over the long term," he said.
He added that energy underpins wider national ambitions: "Energy serves as a fundamental enabler of industry, technology, mobility and prosperity and is playing an increasingly important role in strengthening national competitiveness."
Strategy 2050 targets
The growth sits within the UAE Energy Strategy 2050, first launched in 2017 and since updated. Under the revised strategy, the UAE aims to mobilise between AED150 billion and AED200 billion in energy investment by 2030. The plan also targets tripling the contribution of renewable energy, raising installed clean energy capacity to 19.8 GW, and improving individual and institutional energy efficiency by 42 to 45 percent compared with 2019 levels.
On efficiency, Al Olama said: "Greater efficiency can reduce costs, strengthen energy security, ease pressure on electricity grids and improve industrial productivity. It can also help meet rising energy demand without requiring unnecessary investment in additional generation capacity."
A round-the-clock solar project
Among the projects underpinning this shift is a round-the-clock renewable energy scheme combining solar generation with large-scale battery storage, developed jointly by Masdar and Emirates Water and Electricity Company.
The project integrates a 5.2 GW solar photovoltaic plant with a 19 GWh battery energy storage system, designed to deliver 1 GW of baseload renewable electricity continuously, day and night. Construction officially began in October 2025, and the project is valued at more than AED22 billion.
Bridging technology and investment
Al Olama pointed to what he described as a missing link in scaling up such efforts. "Technology, capital and demand are already present, while the missing component in many cases is the bridge connecting them," he said.