The world’s largest solar-powered data center opens in a pretty unsurprising location

At over 16,000 square meters, The Guinness Book of Records has verified that the largest “green” data center in the world is now up and running at the largest single-site solar park in the world.

The data center, situated at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, belongs to Data Hub Integrated Solutions LLC, or Moro Hub, a subsidiary of Digital Dewa, the digital arm of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA).

Per Gulf Today (opens in new tab), the grand opening was attended by Moro Hub’s technology partners, including, Dell, Microsoft, Huawei and VMware, as well as Sheik Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai’s Executive Council. 

Going (very) green

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, DEWA’s Managing Director and CEO, explained that the data center hopes to provide “next-generation” services within, amongst others, the cybersecurity, cloud hosting and backup sectors, in addition to Moro’s ChatGPT-supported live chat services.

To get there, the sustainable data center uses technology from Moro Hub’s partners, which also include Emirates NBD, the Digital Dubai Authority and the Dubai Islamic Bank, to bolster its AI, data recovery and Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities.

“The new center,” he said, is yet another achievement that raises the UAE’s profile as a leading global player in advancing sustainability and the green economy. [It] provides an exceptional model for combining digital technologies with energy technologies.”

He also noted that the center’s low-carbon infrastructure, and 100% reliance on renewable energy to generate its capacity of over 100 megawatts (MW), supports Dubai’s Clean Energy and Net Zero Emissions Strategies, by which the country hopes to generate all of its energy production capacity via clean energy by 2050.