MENA’s Utility-Scale Battery Storage Market Is Heading for a Sevenfold Jump by 2030
A Dii Desert Energy study projects installed capacity will climb from 20,785 MWh in August 2026 to 149,358 MWh by 2030. Saudi Arabia leads today, and the UAE, Egypt, Oman, Morocco and Turkey hold much of the pipeline.
The Middle East and North Africa is building grid-scale batteries at a pace few forecasters expected. A recent study by Dii Desert Energy puts a number on what comes next: installed utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity is projected to reach 149,358 MWh by 2030, up from 20,785 MWh as of August 2026.
That is a jump of more than sevenfold in a little over four years. The study itself describes the pipeline as pointing to an almost eight-fold increase.
The region has already shown it can move fast. Installed capacity grew 16-fold in just one year, from 808 MWh in 2024 to 12,765 MWh at the end of 2025. What the new study asks is whether that pace can hold, and what stands in the way.
Key takeaways
- Today: 33 operational utility-scale BESS projects totalling 5,477 MW / 20,785 MWh by August 2026
- Pipeline: 84 projects totalling 37,585 MW / 128,573 MWh
- By 2030: installed capacity projected at 149,358 MWh
- Leader: Saudi Arabia has the largest operational fleet and the region’s most bankable market
- Other markets: the UAE, Egypt, Oman, Morocco and Turkey account for a large share of planned projects
- Main revenue source today: energy shifting, with ancillary services as a secondary stream
- Main bottlenecks: grid codes, safety standards, financing and specialist engineering and O&M skills
The numbers at a glance
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Installed capacity, 2024 | 808 MWh |
| Installed capacity, end-2025 | 12,765 MWh |
| Operational capacity, August 2026 | 20,785 MWh (5,477 MW across 33 projects) |
| Pipeline | 128,573 MWh (37,585 MW across 84 projects) |
| Projected capacity, 2030 | 149,358 MWh |
The arithmetic is worth checking, because it explains the headline. Operational capacity of 20,785 MWh plus a pipeline of 128,573 MWh comes to exactly 149,358 MWh. In other words, the 2030 projection is not a modelled guess about demand. It is the sum of what is running today and what is already in development, assuming the pipeline gets built.
That matters for how readers should treat the figure. It is a projection built on identified projects, which is more grounded than a top-down forecast. But pipelines do not always convert in full. Projects slip, get resized or are cancelled, and the study’s own list of bottlenecks shows where that risk sits.
A quick guide to the units
Two units appear throughout, and they measure different things. Megawatts (MW) describe power, meaning how much electricity a battery can deliver at once. Megawatt-hours (MWh) describe energy, meaning how much it can deliver over time. A 500 MW / 2,000 MWh system can discharge at full power for four hours.
By that measure, the operational fleet works out to roughly 3.8 hours of storage on average (20,785 MWh divided by 5,477 MW). This is our own calculation from the study’s figures, not a number the study states. It fits the four-hour design that Saudi Arabia’s procurement model specifies.
How the market got here: a 16-fold leap?
From 808 MWh in 2024 to 12,765 MWh at the end of 2025, the market grew about 16 times in a single year. Capacity then added a further 8,020 MWh between the end of 2025 and August 2026. That is again our arithmetic, but it shows the build-out continuing rather than levelling off.
The study points to three drivers:
- Growing solar and wind capacity. Batteries store output when the sun is strong or the wind is high and release it later.
- Energy-security and decarbonisation targets. Governments want reliable supply and lower emissions at once.
- Falling battery costs. Cheaper batteries make projects easier to finance and justify.
Saudi Arabia leads, and it built the framework to stay ahead
Saudi Arabia has the largest operational fleet in the region, and the study calls it the most bankable BESS market. The reason is structural. The kingdom’s Independent Storage Provider (ISP) framework provides for four-hour systems and 15-year Storage Services Agreements. For developers and lenders, a long contract with defined terms means revenue they can plan around.
The projects show what that certainty has produced:
- Bisha: Saudi Energy1 and BYD commissioned this 500 MW / 2,000 MWh project in January 2025
- Five further sites: Riyadh, Rabigh, Dawadmi, Al Jouf and Qassim, each 500 MW / 2,500 MWh, adding 12,500 MWh together
- Algihaz/Sungrow portfolio: 6 GWh added across three sites in December 2025
The scale is notable. A single 2,500 MWh site is many times larger than the 300 MWh Egyptian project described below.
Beyond Saudi Arabia: other markets start to deploy
Large-scale deployment is not limited to the kingdom. Two projects show the pattern elsewhere:
- Egypt: AMEA Power put the 300 MWh Abydos BESS into operation, alongside a 500 MW solar plant
- Turkey: Oze Group commissioned a 34.1 MWh battery paired with 49 MWp of solar at Sivrihisar
Both pair storage with solar. That is consistent with the study’s broader view that batteries in the region have so far grown up alongside renewable projects.
The pipeline: where the next 128,573 MWh comes from
Eighty-four projects make up the pipeline, and a handful of countries dominate it.
Saudi Arabia. Its Principal Buyer is developing 20,000 MWh of storage through the first two ISP procurement rounds. Another 8,000 MWh is planned under each of rounds three and four. Adding them up, that is 36,000 MWh of storage in the procurement programme.
United Arab Emirates. Masdar’s 5,200 MWp solar project paired with 19,000 MWh of battery storage reached financial close in July 2026 at USD 6.1 billion. DEWA is also developing a 2,000 MW solar project with 8,400 MWh of storage, part of the flagship Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park.
Egypt. Scatec is developing a 1,950 MW solar project with 3,900 MWh of energy storage.
Oman. The country has earmarked nearly USD 1 billion for battery storage projects for 2026-2030.
Morocco. State utility ONEE has begun procurement for 10 battery storage sites totalling 1,600 MWh.
Two things stand out. First, the UAE’s Masdar project alone, at 19,000 MWh, is close to the size of the entire region’s operational fleet today (20,785 MWh). Second, the pipeline is spread across several countries, which reduces dependence on any single market’s policy.
How the batteries make money?
Behind every project is a revenue question, and the study is direct about it.
Energy shifting is the main source of income for operational projects. A battery charges when power is cheap or abundant, such as midday when solar output peaks, and discharges when it is needed more. Ancillary services, the grid-support functions that help keep frequency and voltage stable, are a secondary stream.
Price arbitrage remains limited. Buying power when it is cheap and selling it when it is dear needs a market where prices move visibly. According to the study, most MENA markets lack liquid wholesale or day-ahead power markets, so that route to revenue is narrow for now.
This explains why Saudi Arabia’s contracted model stands out. Where a liquid market does not exist, a 15-year agreement with a central buyer fills the gap. Markets without a comparable framework will need another way to give lenders confidence.
The growing pains
Speed brings strain. The study says the rapid build-out is exposing gaps in four areas:
- Grid codes: the technical rules for connecting and operating storage on the network
- Safety standards: the requirements for installing and running large battery sites
- Financing: how projects secure capital as volumes rise
- Skills: specialist engineering and operations and maintenance (O&M) expertise
None of these is unusual for a market growing this quickly, but each can slow a pipeline down. Whether the 2030 figure is reached depends in part on how quickly these gaps close.
Local manufacturing is starting to take shape
One development may matter beyond 2030. Investments by YEO and Great Power in Turkey, and by Sungrow and Cornex in Egypt, are beginning to establish battery manufacturing capacity in the region. Until now, the study implies, projects have relied on supply from outside. Regional production, if it scales, could shorten supply chains and build the local skills base the study says is thin.
What could push the numbers higher?
The study says the pipeline could expand further, for two reasons.
Storage is becoming a standalone asset class. Until now, batteries have largely been an add-on to renewable projects. As they move to stand-alone investments, more of them can be financed and built on their own merits.
AI data centres are adding demand. Rising demand from data centres creates another potential source of need for flexible power, which batteries are well placed to provide.
What this means?
For governments, the message is that policy design drives investment. Saudi Arabia’s ISP framework, with its four-hour requirement and 15-year agreements, is the clearest example in the study of a rule set that turned into bankable projects.
For developers and investors, the opportunity is large, but so are the execution risks. The bottlenecks the study lists are exactly where delays tend to appear.
For anyone following the energy transition, the pace is the story. A market that grew 16-fold in one year and is projected to grow more than sevenfold again in four is not following a normal adoption curve.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big will MENA’s utility-scale battery storage market be by 2030?
- According to Dii Desert Energy, installed capacity is projected to reach 149,358 MWh by 2030, up from 20,785 MWh as of August 2026.
How many battery storage projects are operating in MENA today?
- The study counts 33 operational utility-scale BESS projects totalling 5,477 MW / 20,785 MWh by August 2026.
How big is the project pipeline?
- The pipeline includes 84 projects with a combined 37,585 MW / 128,573 MWh.
Which country leads MENA’s battery storage market?
- Saudi Arabia has the largest operational fleet and is described as the region’s most bankable market, supported by its Independent Storage Provider framework.
How do battery storage projects earn money in MENA?
- Energy shifting is currently the main revenue source for operational projects, with ancillary services as a secondary stream. Price arbitrage is limited because most MENA markets lack liquid wholesale or day-ahead power markets.
What challenges could slow growth?
- The study points to gaps in grid codes, safety standards, financing and specialist engineering and O&M skills.
