EWEC (Emirates Water and Electricity Company) has revealed that it is increasing Abu Dhabi's solar capacity by almost 2,000 per cent between 2020 and 2030, with a forecasted 17.5 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity. 

By 2035, this capacity is projected to exceed 30GW, at which point solar is expected to provide approximately 40 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s total power generation, said EWEC, a leading company in the integrated planning, purchasing, supply, and system despatch services of water and electricity across the UAE. 

EWEC highlighted these plans as it marked the International Day of Light 2026. Led by UNESCO, the International Day of Light celebrates the importance of light in science, innovation, and sustainable development. 

This year’s theme, “Light for a sustainable future,” intrinsically aligns with EWEC’s strategic mandate. By harnessing the UAE’s most abundant natural resource, sunlight, EWEC is fundamentally reshaping Abu Dhabi's energy mix, accelerating progress towards a more resilient and decarbonised power system, it said.

In implementing its strategic plan, EWEC has commissioned the development of five of the world’s largest single-site solar power plants, including Noor Abu Dhabi, Al Dhafra, Al Ajban, Khazna, and Zarraf Solar Photovoltaic (PV). Furthermore, the pioneering 'round-the-clock' mega-project, developed in partnership with Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar, integrates a 5.2GW solar photovoltaic facility with a 19 gigawatt-hour (GWh) Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), ensuring the continuous delivery of reliable renewable power and enabling EWEC to rapidly scale its renewable energy capacity.

Adel Alsaeedi, Senior Vice President of Project Development at EWEC, said: “The theme of International Day of Light, ‘Light for a sustainable future’, speaks directly to EWEC’s strategic vision. In the UAE, sunlight is our most powerful natural asset. By transforming this resource into reliable, utility-scale renewable electricity, we are strategically decarbonising the power sector, strengthening energy security, and driving sustainable economic growth. The unprecedented expansion of our solar infrastructure is fundamentally redesigning the energy landscape, proving that sustainability and scale can be achieved simultaneously. As we continue to deploy some of the world's largest solar plants, we are firmly cementing Abu Dhabi's position as a global leader in the energy transition and securing a resilient, low-carbon future for the nation.”

The accelerated integration of solar PV with BESS is an enabler of the decarbonisation of Abu Dhabi's energy sector. As EWEC implements its strategic plan, the impact is highly measurable. EWEC expects the average carbon dioxide intensity from electricity generation will significantly fall by 51 per cent, from 335 kilograms per megawatt hour (kg/MWh) in 2019 to 162kg/MWh by 2030. Simultaneously, by deploying solar power with BESS alongside low-carbon-intensive reverse osmosis (RO) technology to decouple water and power production, the average carbon dioxide intensity from water production is forecast to decrease by 94 per cent, from 13.5kg/m3 in 2019 to just 0.7kg/m3 by 2030.

This transition ensures that by 2030, RO will account for 92 per cent of total water production. Looking ahead, this comprehensive strategy ensures that by 2035, EWEC’s total CO2 emissions will decrease by nearly 46 per cent relative to 2019 levels. To support this rapid expansion of renewable generation, EWEC is also advancing critical grid infrastructure, including the integration of more than 8GW of long-duration BESS by 2035 to guarantee grid stability and secure supply. - TradeArabia News Service