UAE Will Be World's Largest Generator of Solar Electricity by 2031
Solar generation in the UAE is projected to exceed 4,000 kilowatt-hours per person by 2031, according to the IEA.
The UAE is projected to record the world’s highest per-capita solar electricity generation by 2031, according to the International Energy Agency’s 2026 ‘Renewables’ report.
The IEA estimates solar output will exceed 4,000 kilowatt-hours per person by that year. Australia ranks second in the projection, followed by Oman, Bulgaria and Qatar, with Greece, Austria, Spain, China and Chile completing the top 10.
Every country in the top 10 is expected to generate at least 2,000 kilowatt-hours of solar electricity per person by 2031, compared with a projected global average of around 800 kilowatt-hours.
Solar power is expected to account for roughly three quarters of total renewable electricity capacity worldwide by 2031, while overall renewable capacity is projected to grow by nearly 85%. The IEA also expects renewable capacity across the Middle East to triple over the period.
Within the Gulf, Saudi Arabia is forecast to increase renewable expansion fivefold through 2031, followed by the UAE, which the agency described as part of a wider structural shift in the region’s energy market.
Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Al Mazrouei said in September that the UAE had raised its clean energy target, covering renewables and nuclear, to 35% by 2030 to 2031. He added that meeting the target would require new projects, stronger competition and greater private-sector participation in power generation.
