Masdar’s Gigascale Solar+Storage Project Reaches Financial Close
Yesterday, Masdar reached financial close on what it calls the ‘world’s first gigascale Round-the-Clock (RTC) renewable energy project.’ The project involves a 5.2 gigawatt (GW) solar power installation and a 19 gigawatt-hour (GWh) battery storage installation, capable of delivering 1 GW of continuous clean power 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The total investment stands at $6.1 billion.
Project Scale and Investment
‘Backed by a consortium of 13 leading international and local banks, the US$5.1 billion financing package demonstrates strong market confidence in both the project’s commercial viability and Masdar’s ability to deliver complex energy infrastructure at scale,’ the UAE-based clean energy company wrote. The 13 funding organizations 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
- Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC)
- KfW IPEX-Bank
- Natixis
- Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
- Standard Chartered Bank
- Societe Generale
‘Representing a total capital investment of US$6.1 billion, with Masdar funding US$1 billion of equity, the RTC project is being developed in Abu Dhabi by Masdar and Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC). Integrating a 5.2GW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant with a 19 gigawatt-hour (GWh) battery energy storage system (BESS), RTC is the largest and most technologically advanced system of its kind in the world.’ Clearly, this is a monumental project. The scale is incomprehensible—5,200 megawatts of solar and 19 GWh of batteries.
Bankability and Significance
Masdar emphasizes that this project demonstrates not just technical feasibility but bankability. ‘Financial close demonstrates that large-scale renewable energy projects capable of delivering round-the-clock power have evolved from technical ambition to commercially bankable infrastructure. As electricity demand accelerates, driven by AI, data centers, and advanced manufacturing, the project establishes a new benchmark for financing reliable, utility-scale clean energy projects and addresses the key challenge of intermittency.’ This marks a critical step for powering AI data centers with clean energy.
Construction Timeline
Construction began in October 2025, and the project is expected to be completed sometime in 2027—a remarkably quick timeline for such a massive solar-plus-storage installation.
About Masdar
Masdar has a diversified portfolio of more than 65GW, spanning both established and high-growth renewable energy markets and covering the full spectrum of renewable technologies, including solar, onshore wind, offshore wind, battery energy storage and hybrid solutions. With a clear pathway to 100GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, Masdar continues to expand its global platform through disciplined growth across priority markets, delivering reliable, affordable clean power to meet the world’s rapidly growing electricity demand.