Middle East embraces Chinese solar firms for green energy transition

Across the vast desert landscapes of the Middle East, a blue ocean of solar panels is taking shape. Countries across the region are partnering with Chinese PV companies to drive green energy transitions.

The collaboration has gained fresh momentum. Recently, Chinese PV manufacturer JinkoSolar signed a 2 GW module supply agreement with Masdar, an energy firm from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for the Round-The-Clock (RTC) project, a PV-with-battery-storage project. The initiative, with an estimated investment of over $6 billion, is scheduled to begin operations by 2027 and is expected to cut carbon emissions by approximately 5.7 million tonnes annually.

The framework agreement represents a strategic step in the UAE's energy transition and helps Abu Dhabi achieve its target of meeting 60% of its energy demand from renewable and clean sources by 2035, said Ahmed Ali Alshamsi, CEO of the Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), a co-investor in the project.

JinkoSolar, one of China's leading PV manufacturers that exports its products to nearly 200 countries and regions, is providing its Tiger Neo modules for the project. The modules are designed to maintain efficient power output under low-light conditions, such as at dawn and dusk, or during frequent dust events, thereby extending daily effective generation hours.

"Gulf countries are highly receptive to advanced and forward-looking technologies," said Qian Jing, vice president of JinkoSolar.

Between 2021 and 2025, JinkoSolar invested over 22 billion yuan ($3.22 billion) in research and development to continuously improve cell efficiency and module power. In 2022, a power plant using the company's TOPCon cells achieved an affordable electricity cost of just $0.0132 per kilowatt-hour in Abu Dhabi. A Saudi Arabian project, which uses the company's new-generation TOPCon modules to power industrial hydrogen production, has achieved an electricity cost of below $0.01 per kilowatt-hour.

The Solar Outlook Report 2025, published by the Middle East Solar Industry Association, projected that solar power will account for a significantly larger share of the energy mix in the Middle East and North Africa, with capacity exceeding 180 GW by 2030.

China is the world's largest producer of PV products, while the Middle East is among the most promising emerging markets for solar development, creating strong momentum for bilateral cooperation, according to the report.

Chinese companies are leveraging the region's abundant sunlight while tailoring technologies to local conditions, including solutions to withstand high temperatures and sandstorms. For instance, JA Solar Technology has introduced nano-coated glass for its PV modules designed for desert environments. The coating significantly reduces dust accumulation and slows down the degradation of light transmittance, thereby lowering cleaning costs and improving power generation efficiency.

Behind these green power collaborations is support for local industrial transformation. The RTC project, for example, is designed to serve as a key energy infrastructure for local AI data centers, supercomputing and the digital economy.

Chinese companies are also exploring applications such as the coordinated development model of agriculture and PV, and seawater desalination in the Middle East, while accelerating plans to establish local manufacturing facilities.

"We are committed to exploring broader dimensions of cooperation and hope to jointly promote China's mature technologies and solutions to wider global third-party markets," said Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar.