Emirates Water and Electricity (EWEC), the sole procurer and supplier of electricity and water in Abu Dhabi, has set a new target of more than 35 GW of installed solar capacity by 2035.
The emirate had targeted 18 GW of solar capacity by 2035 in 2024, before raising the target to more than 30 GW in May 2026.
EWEC has also set an interim target of 14 GW by 2030, meaning at least a further 21 GW of solar capacity would need to be installed between 2031 and 2035 to meet the new target.
The plans also envisage the deployment of up to 15 GW of energy storage capacity by 2035. “As this advanced capacity is commissioned, the contribution of gas-fired generation, which provides the flexibility needed to firm intermittent renewable output, is expected to decline,” EWEC said in a statement.
EWEC did not provide details on how the additional solar and storage capacity will be deployed.
Abu Dhabi’s utility-scale solar market has expanded rapidly over the past decade. The emirate is home to the 2 GW Al Dhafra solar plant, which spans 21.5 m2, while EWEC has continued to procure gigawatt-scale projects. In late 2024, it secured sites for 4.5 GW of additional solar capacity across Al Faya, Al Khazna and Al Zarraf. The capacity forms part of a broader pipeline of large-scale projects being developed through Abu Dhabi’s independent power producer model.
Storage is becoming an increasingly important part of the emirate’s renewable energy expansion. UAE-based developer Masdar and EWEC are developing a project combining 5.2 GW of solar with 19 GWh of battery storage, designed to deliver 1 GW of continuous renewable power. Construction began in 2025, with commercial operations targeted for 2027. The project marks a shift from using solar primarily as daytime generation toward pairing large-scale PV with batteries to provide dispatchable renewable power.
Abu Dhabi is also opening its distributed solar market. The Department of Energy introduced a solar-plus-storage self-supply policy in February 2026, initially targeting the agricultural sector and allowing self-consumption PV with or without battery storage. The framework was extended to residential consumers in April, allowing villa owners and eligible residential buildings to install rooftop solar and storage under a simplified regulatory framework.
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