Featured in Building resilience – 04-2026

Three realities for MENA storage

The energy storage sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is shaped by three distinct realities, each driven by vastly different economic, political, and social forces. These include capital-rich mega-projects, commercial sectors grappling with fossil fuel subsidy reforms, and conflict-affected nations where offgrid power is a matter of survival.

By

pv magazine

02 Apr 2026

The 300 MW Sakaka solar project in Saudi Arabia is the Kingdom’s first utility-scale PV power plant and the poster child of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 renewable energy plan. Under this program, the country aims to reduce dependence on oil and diversify its economy into new economic sectors, such as the market for renewable energy. The Sakaka plant has attracted much attention and publicity around the world – and incorporated technology to meet considerable conditions. | Photo: Sakaka Solar Energy Co.

The first of these three is unfolding in capital-rich economies, which are deploying utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) at a magnitude rarely seen elsewhere. Dubai-based think tank Dii Desert Energy estimates MENA’s utility-scale storage market reached 25 GWh in 2025, and could rise to 156 GWh by 2030, while DNV also expects strong growth …

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