In September 2026, the Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) released its latest long-term plan: up to 15 GW of battery energy storage and more than 35 GW of solar PV capacity in Abu Dhabi by 2035. PV-storage pairing on the energy transition side, and new high-reliability power supply demand from AI data centers. Chinese energy storage companies have already secured orders across several links.
1. A Three-Step Target Raise: Over 35 GW Solar and Up to 15 GW Storage by 2035
Abu Dhabi's capacity targets have been raised repeatedly: the 2035 solar target set in 2024 was 18 GW, raised to over 30 GW in May 2026, and raised again in September 2026 to over 35 GW, together with a storage goal of up to 15 GW set for 2035 for the first time. On the interim timeline, the 2030 solar target stands at 14 GW, meaning at least 21 GW more must be added between 2031 and 2035. As Abu Dhabi's sole purchaser and supplier of electricity and water, EWEC stated that as this advanced capacity comes online, the flexibility contribution of gas-fired generation is expected to decline, and storage will take on the main balancing role.
2. Flagship Project First: 5.2 GW Solar + 19 GWh Storage
Abu Dhabi's storage expansion is not confined to planning. Local energy giant Masdar and EWEC are jointly developing a flagship project pairing 5.2 GW of solar PV with 19 GWh of battery storage, designed to deliver 1 GW of continuous renewable power. Construction began in 2025, with commercial operation targeted for 2027. The project involves a total investment of more than AED 22 billion, is expected to create about 10,000 jobs, and will cut about 5.7 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. It marks Abu Dhabi's shift from "solar mainly for daytime generation" to "large-scale PV paired with storage to provide dispatchable renewable power". Chinese companies are deeply involved: BYD Energy Storage signed an 11.275 GWh storage system supply agreement featuring 2,710 Ah blade cells; Sungrow secured a 7.5 GWh storage order in the north zone plus a 2.6 GW PV inverter supply agreement; and PowerChina signed the EPC contract for the 2.1 GW + 7.75 GWh RTC solar-storage project, worth about RMB 13.962 billion. Beyond utility-scale projects, Abu Dhabi is also extending into distributed markets: a PV-plus-storage self-consumption policy for agriculture was launched in February 2026 and extended to residential users in April.
3. Emissions Main Line: Power and Water Carbon Emissions Down Over 45%
These moves serve Abu Dhabi's broader emissions reduction goals. EWEC projects that total carbon emissions from power and water production will fall from about 42 million tonnes in 2019 to about 23 million tonnes by 2035, a reduction of more than 45%. Solar power, battery storage, and reverse osmosis desalination are identified as the three core drivers.
4. AIDC: The Second Growth Curve for Storage
The sharp raise of Abu Dhabi's storage targets is closely tied to the region's fast-moving AI data center buildout. In the desert west of Abu Dhabi, a planned "UAE-US AI campus" covering about 26 square kilometers is under construction. Led by UAE artificial intelligence company G42, its first phase, "Stargate UAE", plans a USD 30 billion investment to build a 1 GW compute cluster, with the first 200 MW expected to enter service in 2026. According to Reuters, changes in the regional security situation may shift the project from a single large campus to multiple sites across the UAE, with studies on protective measures such as building some facilities underground or inside mountains and deploying air defense systems and electronic jamming equipment; G42 said the project is "on track".
The power characteristics of AI loads explain exactly why storage is being added in tandem. Unlike traditional data centers, AI training and inference clusters show large, fast power fluctuations, with far higher requirements for supply continuity and power quality than general loads. Khalid, the storage procurement lead of the RTC project, said the project explicitly requires storage to serve both PV peak regulation and the backup needs of nearby new AIDC computing parks; the differing load characteristics of the two forced the drawings to be redone at the design stage. Green power compliance requirements are also driving storage attachment: the UAE requires new large computing projects to use at least 60% green power, and since PV cannot supply stable power around the clock, storage becomes the hard carrier of compliance. Large computing projects without their own storage typically wait three to five years in the municipal grid connection queue, while adding storage reduces reliance on grid expansion. Acceptance standards likewise reflect the special requirements of computing loads: storage PCS power response must be within 10 milliseconds, annual system availability must reach 99.999%, and all suppliers must complete tens of thousands of load impact simulation tests at local laboratories in Abu Dhabi before entering the site. Institutionally, in January 2026 Abu Dhabi announced plans for a dedicated electricity tariff mechanism for AI data centers, offering globally competitive prices to hyperscale data centers.
For Chinese energy storage companies, AIDC scenarios are reshaping the competitive threshold of overseas utility-scale storage projects: response speed, availability, and simulation validation are becoming new entry tickets. The combined "PV + storage + computing" demand in the Middle East is opening new space for storage applications.
Source material: EWEC's plan and public reports by Reuters and other media
