In a historic step to address the intermittent nature of solar and wind power and establish a new worldwide standard for the deployment of clean electricity, the United Arab Emirates broke ground recently on the world’s first gigascale, 24/7 renewable energy project.

The project, which was created by Emirates Water and Electricity Co. and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC, also known as Masdar, will provide one gigawatt of continuous baseload renewable energy at a price that is competitive worldwide.

It embodies UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s goal of promoting sustainability and innovation in the field of renewable energy.

“The United Arab Emirates is reinventing renewable energy for the digital era,” stated Sultan Al Jaber, Masdar chairman and minister of industry and advanced technologies. “This project demonstrates that renewable energy sources can deliver reliable, cost-effective, and sustainable power around the clock.” The project will combine a 19-GWh battery energy storage system, the biggest and most sophisticated in the world, with a 5.2-gigawatt solar photovoltaic plant. To increase efficiency, it will have predictive analytics, intelligent dispatch, and forecasting augmented by artificial intelligence.

“A blueprint for the world,” Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi said, adding that addressing the increasing demand from AI and other future technologies required overcoming the problem of intermittency. By 2027, the $6 billion facility should be operational. When finished, it will prevent 5.7 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually and deliver 1 GW of consistent, clean power. Additionally, the initiative will boost local manufacturing and services and support over 10,000 jobs.

Abu Dhabi is becoming a global centre for innovation and artificial intelligence,’ stated Ahmed Ali Alshamsi, CEO of EWEC. “The next stage of the UAE’s economic diversification will be powered by this project, which guarantees those sectors grow sustainably.”

The project is in line with the UAE’s 2031 AI policy, which aims to establish the technology as a vital component of the country’s development. The system will become a global paradigm for 24/7 renewable energy production once it is up and running. The United Arab Emirates expects that the initiative would encourage other countries to implement comparable large-scale, secure and sustainable electricity solutions.

By 2030, Masdar, one of the clean energy companies with the fastest rate of growth in the world, plans to have 100 GW of clean technologies in its portfolio. It has already made investments in the US, the UK, and other nations, including the first battery storage system connected to a floating offshore wind farm in history.

With this revolutionary move, the UAE has further solidified its position as a global leader in the shift to renewable energy, which combines creativity, sustainability, and technology to satisfy the power needs of a digital future.