A Race to the Top

The Arabic-speaking region is experiencing a renewables boom, with over 73 GW of utility-scale solar and wind projects in development. Led by countries like Oman, Morocco, and Algeria, the region is shifting toward mega-projects driven by green hydrogen production and transcontinental energy exports. While Egypt and the UAE are current leaders in operating capacity, emerging leaders are rapidly expanding their pipelines to meet collective regional targets.

• The Arabic-speaking region is on track to meet a significant portion of the Arab League's 2013 commitment to reach 80 GW of renewable energy by 2030. If all current utility-scale solar and wind projects are completed on schedule, they will account for 91% of this goal.
• The region is characterized by exceptionally large-scale projects; the average size of prospective solar farm phases is more than four times the global average, and wind phase farms are more than one and a half times the global average.
• Egypt currently leads the region in combined operating utility-scale solar and wind generation with 3.5 GW, while the United Arab Emirates leads specifically in solar generation with 2.6 GW.
• Oman, Morocco, and Algeria are emerging as the new leaders in prospective capacity. Oman has the highest prospective capacity at 15.3 GW, followed by Morocco (14.4 GW) and Algeria (10.0 GW).
• The region is leveraging its high solar irradiation—specifically in GCC countries where land receives 500–600 W/m2 per square kilometer annually—to develop green hydrogen and ammonia for export.
• Several massive storage and export projects are underway, including Oman's Al Wusta project (25 GW), the largest prospective storage initiative globally, and Morocco's 10.5 GW Xlinks project designed to supply electricity to the UK via undersea cable.
• Algeria is attempting to grow its utility-scale capacity twentyfold by 2030 and is attracting foreign investment by privatizing the market and exempting renewable projects from the 49% foreign ownership limit.

APA

Behrsin, I., O’Malia, K., Prasad, S., Hinh, A., & Abdallah, N. (2022). A Race to the Top. Global Energy Monitor. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/A-Race-To-The-Top-final-English-version_11.pdf

Chicago

Behrsin, Ingrid, Kasandra O’Malia, Shradhey Prasad, Amanda Hinh, and Nagwa Abdallah. A Race to the Top. Global Energy Monitor, 2022. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/A-Race-To-The-Top-final-English-version_11.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Behrsin |first1=Ingrid |last2=O’Malia |first2=Kasandra |last3=Prasad |first3=Shradhey |last4=Hinh |first4=Amanda |last5=Abdallah |first5=Nagwa |title=A Race to the Top |publisher=Global Energy Monitor |date=June 2022 |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/A-Race-To-The-Top-final-English-version_11.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{behrsin2022race, author = {Behrsin, Ingrid and O’Malia, Kasandra and Prasad, Shradhey and Hinh, Amanda and Abdallah, Nagwa}, title = {{A Race to the Top}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, year = {2022}, month = jun, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/A-Race-To-The-Top-final-English-version_11.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }