Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park hits new milestones with record-breaking capacity and expansion plans

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which stands out as a flagship project in Dubai’s push toward cleaner energy, hit a fresh milestone in 2025 as authorities ramp up their plans to reshape the emirate’s power mix. According to Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), the total installed capacity of the park increased to 3,860 megawatts (MW) after adding about 800 MW during the year. This expansion was achieved through a blend of photovoltaic (PV) arrays and concentrated solar power (CSP) technology. The Emirates News Agency covered this development as part of the ongoing growth of the project, supporting Dubai’s Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the broader UAE goal of becoming carbon-neutral.

DEWA explains that now the park supplies approximately 21.5 percent of Dubai’s whole power capacity, highlighting how utility-scale solar is increasingly contributing to the city’s grid. Industry reports and DEWA statements suggest that this 2025 boost is part of the project’s sixth phase, with plans in place to expand further. Interestingly, DEWA has also announced a tender for a seventh phase, which aims to add significant capacity along with advanced energy storage, marking a strategic move towards more reliable renewable sources.

The project’s achievements on a global stage are quite notable. In May 2025, DEWA announced that the fourth phase of the solar park set a Guinness World Record for the highest capacity produced by a single-operator CSP plant at 700 MW. They also reported that this same phase achieved a separate Guinness record for the longest uninterrupted CSP operation, running for 39 days straight. According to DEWA, the 950 MW expansion in this phase includes a 600 MW parabolic basin complex, a 100 MW solar power tower, and 250 MW of PV capacity.

While DEWA portrays these milestones as proof of Dubai’s leadership in clean energy innovation, some of the project’s initial targets for 2030 have actually been raised during 2025. Early estimates placed the 2030 capacity goal at about 5,000 MW, but that figure was soon increased. In November 2025, DEWA announced a 60 percent hike, saying the new goal is now over 8,000 MW. Both the Emirates News Agency and DEWA’s official statements laid out intermediate projections; one widely circulated report mentioned a revised target exceeding 7,260 MW by 2030. The variation in these numbers shows how long-term goals are being adjusted upward as the project moves faster than initially expected.

Looking ahead, storage capacity and the design of upcoming phases are central to the park’s next steps. DEWA’s June 2025 plans describe the seventh phase as incorporating around 2,000 MW of solar capacity paired with approximately 1,400 MWh (megawatt-hours) of energy storage. This should allow the facility to store up to roughly 8,400 MWh of clean energy, which is pretty significant. Earlier in the same year, DEWA reported strong interest from the global market, revealing that 47 firms from 17 countries had shown interest in developing phase seven. Some accounts mention that this phase could add over 1,600 MW of solar capacity along with a 1,000 MW battery storage system. Industry sources, like PV Magazine, estimate that fully completed, this phase could generate multiple terawatt-hours of clean electricity annually, and by the end of the decade, it could push Dubai’s renewable energy share into the mid-30s percentage-wise.

The operators expect the plant’s scale to bring about substantial reductions in emissions. DEWA has projected that by 2030, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park will cut over 8.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gases each year under certain deployment scenarios. Some other statements from DEWA even suggest annual savings of around eight million tonnes, based on specific phases and projected electricity output. The park is being developed under an Independent Power Producer (IPP) model, which, interestingly enough, continues to attract international investment interest.

Experts point out that the mix of CSP and PV, combined with large-scale storage, really puts the project in a good position to deliver stable, dispatchable renewable energy, something that’s increasingly vital as regions seek to replace fossil fuel-based generation. CSP with thermal storage can reliably produce power outside daylight hours, while battery systems can respond quickly to grid demands. DEWA’s public communications and industry coverage highlight this hybrid setup as a way to increase renewables’ share on the grid, without sacrificing reliability.

Of course, there are still some cautionary notes. Big clean-energy projects like this come with risks, construction delays, issues with integrating different systems, and the complexities of financing. DEWA’s repeated upward revisions of targets during 2025 seem to reflect both ambition and the realities of evolving technology, market interest, and procurement outcomes. But, overall, the success of record-breaking CSP performance, rapid PV deployment, and the growing storage ambitions shows Dubai’s dedication to reaching its Net Zero by 2050 goal. External reports are quick to point out that this project ranks among some of the largest solar-plus-storage efforts in the world.

As the park moves into its seventh phase, a lot depends on how well Dubai manages to balance ambitious capacity goals, successful procurement, and technological integration. This will ultimately decide how quickly the city can increase the share of clean energy in its power mix. For those involved in climate tech or renewable energy investments, the project serves as a sort of test case for hybrid renewables at a big scale, and also signals that investor interest in utility-scale solar and storage in the region remains strong.

Source: Noah Wire Services