The Khazna Solar PV project is a joint venture between Masdar, which holds a 60% stake, and ENGIE, which holds 40%. It marks ENGIE’s largest single photovoltaic installation in the world. EWEC, the UAE’s integrated water and electricity planning authority, signed a 30 year power purchase agreement with both companies back in October 2025.

Advanced infrastructure in the desert

Most traditional solar plants generate power only during peak daylight hours. Khazna aims to optimize its generation windows by pairing its solar arrays with integrated battery storage systems. Advanced digital infrastructure, including IoT-enabled sensors, cloud-based monitoring, big data analytics, and robotic panel cleaning systems, will maximize performance while reducing operational costs in the harsh desert environment.

Solar tracking systems will actively adjust panel angles throughout the day to capture maximum sunlight. The combination of tracking software and battery storage allows the plant to smooth out intermittent generation spikes, producing a highly reliable stream of dispatchable power for the regional grid.

Scale and environmental impact

Once fully operational in 2028, Khazna Solar PV will generate enough electricity to power approximately 160,000 Emirati homes. It will also reduce Abu Dhabi’s carbon emissions by more than 2.4 million metric tonnes of CO₂ per year. That reduction is the equivalent of removing roughly 470,000 petrol powered cars from the road annually.

The project forms a core part of Abu Dhabi’s plan to reach 18 gigawatts of solar generation capacity by 2035. The emirate aims to source 60% of its total electricity demand from renewable and clean energy by the same year. Khazna is the fourth utility scale solar project EWEC has commissioned at this scale, following major installations at Noor Abu Dhabi and Al Dhafra.

Closing a major gap for the regional grid

Following the successful financial close in January, groundbreaking on the desert site is slated to begin this year, kicking off a two year construction timeline. Under the 30 year PPA structure, EWEC pays only for the net electrical energy the plant actually delivers to the grid. Masdar and ENGIE remain fully responsible for the design, financing, construction, and operation across the entire term.

Ahmed Ali Alshamsi, CEO of EWEC, described Khazna as a strategic asset that accelerates the UAE’s journey toward its renewable energy targets and supports the country’s Net Zero by 2050 initiative. Rather than a standalone achievement, this project represents a shift in desert energy economics. The changing cost of utility scale solar combined with storage means that reliable, stabilized generation is now highly competitive in major global markets.