Reporting window: July 1 – July 31, 2026

Executive summary

MENA solar was the standout story of July: the UAE's Masdar closed financing on what is billed as the world's largest combined solar-plus-storage project, a $6.1 billion, 5.2 GW/19 GWh facility in Abu Dhabi, while Saudi Arabia advanced a ~15 GW solar-and-wind portfolio and Morocco and Egypt kept building out their own utility-scale solar bases — together underscoring the region's shift from pilot projects to some of the largest solar buildouts on the planet. Globally, renewable growth stayed on its record pace too: the EU's electricity mix neared the symbolic 50% renewables threshold with solar output up over 24% year-on-year, the US held above 30% renewable generation share for the year to date, and India kept adding solar at a record clip ahead of a domestic-manufacturing policy deadline.

Featured this month

MENA solar spotlight

MENA solar development is transitioning from a pipeline of announcements to a wave of financial closes and construction milestones. Below are the month's key project, tender, and policy developments across the Gulf and North Africa.

Project financing & construction

UAE — Masdar and Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) reached financial close on July 13, 2026 for a 5.2 GW solar PV plant paired with a 19 GWh battery storage system in Abu Dhabi, at a total cost of $6.1 billion. Masdar is contributing $1 billion in equity, with $5.1 billion raised via project financing from a 13-bank consortium including Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, BNP Paribas, HSBC, and Standard Chartered. The facility is described as the world's largest combined solar-and-storage project able to deliver round-the-clock clean power; commercial operations are targeted for 2027. (SaudiGulf Projects, Jul 13)

UAE — First shipments of PV modules arrived on site for the Masdar/EWEC 5.2 GW Abu Dhabi solar-plus-storage project in mid-July 2026, an early construction milestone following the financial close above. (SolarQuarter, Jul 17)

Saudi Arabia — ACWA Power, alongside Badeel and Saudi Aramco Power Company (SAPCO), advanced a roughly 15 GW portfolio of five solar and two wind projects (Bisha, Humaij, Khulis, Afif 1 and 2 for solar; Starah and Shaqra for wind), worth about SAR 31 billion (~$8.2 billion), toward operation between late 2027 and mid-2028, part of the National Renewable Energy Program's target of 40 GW solar and 16 GW wind by 2030. (Enerdata)

North Africa

Morocco — The 305 MW Noor Atlas solar programme is moving forward as part of Morocco's push past 2 GW of installed solar capacity, building on the legacy Noor Ouarzazate complex, one of the largest concentrated solar power sites in the world. (SolarQuarter, Mar 12)

Egypt — Egypt's existing large-scale solar base (Benban Solar Park at over 1.6 GW, plus the 200 MW Kom Ombo plant) continues to anchor North Africa's utility-scale solar capacity as new tenders are evaluated regionally. (Carbon Credits)

Smaller Gulf markets

Oman — Oman continued expanding its renewable energy project pipeline through 2026, including a push into domestic solar cell and module manufacturing, as part of its broader energy diversification and sustainability strategy. (Times of Oman)

Jordan — Jordan advanced a 100 MW industrial solar project and is preparing new solar, wind, and storage tenders under a 10-year national energy strategy aimed at strengthening energy independence. (Zawya)

Global green energy developments

Europe

Renewables reached 49.8% of EU electricity feed-in in July 2026, up from 47.9% a year earlier. Solar was the main driver, with generation up 24.3% year-on-year to 44.64 billion kWh — enough to reach about 91% of nuclear's output for the month, versus 72% a year prior. Wind generation rose 12.3% to 30.97 billion kWh. (Renewable Energy Industry)

United States

Renewables supplied more than 30% of US electricity generation through the first part of 2026, per EIA data reported in June and reaffirmed through July, with the agency projecting roughly 78.5 GW of new solar, wind, and battery capacity over the coming year even as federal policy support has become less certain. (CleanTechnica, Jul 23)

Asia-Pacific

India is on track to add more than 50 GWdc of solar capacity in 2026, beating 2025's 49 GWdc record, after commissioning 34 GWdc in the first half of the year (+38% year-on-year). The rush was partly driven by developers racing to complete projects ahead of the June 2026 ALMM-II deadline requiring domestically manufactured cells on government-linked projects; cell supply has not kept pace with module demand, which Wood Mackenzie expects to keep prices elevated into 2027. (APAC News Network, Aug)

Sources

← Back to insights