RIYADH: The UAE’s renewable energy capacity has surged more than 63-fold over the past decade as the Gulf state accelerates investment in cleaner power and upgrades its electricity grid.
Renewable capacity rose from 129 megawatts in 2015 to more than 8.2 gigawatts in 2025, Sharif Al Olama, undersecretary for energy and petroleum affairs at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, said in comments carried by state-run Emirates News Agency, or WAM.
Clean energy accounted for 32.4 percent of the UAE’s electricity generation, with the government targeting a 35 percent share by 2031. Total electricity generation reached 192,735 gigawatt-hours in 2025, compared with consumption of 174,524 GWh, according to WAM.
The figures underscore the pace of the UAE’s energy transition as the country seeks to meet rising electricity demand while cutting emissions and maintaining energy security. Under its updated Energy Strategy 2050, the country aims to more than triple the share of renewable energy by 2030 and invest between 150 billion dirhams ($40.8 billion) and 200 billion dirhams to meet rising energy demand while sustaining economic growth.
“Al Olama said the UAE had made significant progress across the energy sector, including expanding clean energy, developing the national electricity system, strengthening grid interconnection and deploying modern technologies and data to manage the grid and enhance its readiness,” WAM reported.
The UAE also aims to achieve a grid emission factor of 0.27 kg of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour by 2030, a target the government has linked to its ambition of maintaining one of the lowest grid emission factors compared with the global average.
“Electricity generated from clean energy sources exceeded 62.4 gigawatt-hours in 2025, while installed clean energy capacity reached 13,805 MW, spanning nuclear power, photovoltaic and concentrated solar power, wind energy and waste-to-energy,” WAM added.
Grid upgrades
Al Olama said the progress was driven by a clear national strategy to build a secure and sustainable energy system capable of meeting future demand, supported by collaboration between federal and local authorities, national companies and the private sector.
He highlighted the launch of the Emirates Monitoring Centre, the first national facility of its kind to provide real-time monitoring of the UAE’s integrated power network by linking all four electricity utilities.
As part of the centre’s second phase, the ministry also prepared and implemented a study to develop a renewable energy management program in cooperation with Siemens, supporting grid monitoring and coordination among entities involved in the national electricity system.
