Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) and Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) have closed a $5.1 billion credit financing package for their flagship solar-plus-storage project in Abu Dhabi. The project is promoted as the world’s first renewable energy facility capable of producing 1 GW of clean electricity constantly, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The project is one of the biggest financings for an integrated renewable energy and battery storage project ever, with Masdar providing an extra $1 billion in equity, for a total investment of $6.1 billion. The project will combine a 19 GWh battery energy storage system (BESS) with a 5.2 GW solar photovoltaic (PV) facility to produce up to 1 GW of renewable electricity continuously, 24/7.
Originally unveiled in January 2025, construction began in October 2025, with commercial operations expected to commence in 2027. According to Masdar, securing financing for the project demonstrates that large-scale renewable plants paired with energy storage have progressed beyond technical demonstrations and are now considered commercially bankable infrastructure.
The financing has been arranged through a syndicate of 13 international and regional financial institutions, highlighting growing confidence among lenders in utility-scale renewable projects integrated with battery storage. The participating banks include Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, BNP Paribas, Bank of China, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, KfW IPEX-Bank, Natixis, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Standard Chartered Bank, and Societe Generale.
Masdar has awarded major battery supply contracts to Chinese manufacturers for the project’s storage component. Sungrow will supply 7.5 GWh of its PowerTitan 3.0 energy storage systems alongside 2.6 GW of photovoltaic inverter technology. BYD Energy Storage will provide an additional 11.275 GWh of battery storage capacity. Earlier, the developers had also selected JA Solar, JinkoSolar, and CATL as preferred equipment suppliers. Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) responsibilities have been assigned to Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and POWERCHINA.
The Abu Dhabi project sets a new standard for integrated renewable energy and storage worldwide. At 19 GWh, it surpasses the installed battery storage capacity of numerous nations and is the largest battery storage system ever funded. The massive 5.2 GW solar project, which covers an area of about 90 square kilometres, is intended to produce excess electricity during the day to fully charge the battery system, enabling it to maintain 1 GW of continuous output all night long.
The project is anticipated to start operations in 2027 and is supported by $6.1 billion in total investment, which includes $1 billion in Masdar equity and debt from a 13-bank consortium. The main offtaker will be EWEC, and one of the main demand drivers has been identified as the fast increasing electricity demand from AI-driven data centers.
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