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Dubai: Sheikh Hamdan inaugurates world's largest solar-powered data centre

New facility developed by Moro Hub is powered fully by renewable energy, the data centre has a capacity of over 100 MW

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, on Thursday inaugurated the green data centre of Data Hub Integrated Solutions LLC (Moro Hub), a subsidiary of Digital Dewa.

Recognised as the world’s largest solar-powered data centre by the Guinness World Records, the facility is located at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world.

The opening event featured the signing of agreements between Moro Hub and its key technology partners and customers including Dell Technologies, Microsoft, Huawei, VMWare, Emirates NBD, Digital Dubai Authority, and Dubai Islamic Bank.

Sheikh Hamdan was welcomed at the site of the green data centre by His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of Dewa.

Following the inauguration, Sheikh Hamdan toured the green data centre. He was briefed by Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer on the facility’s integrated solutions designed to provide next-generation services in the areas of digital transformation, cloud and hosting services, cybersecurity, smart cities, IoT services and professional and managed services, as well as Moro services supported by ChatGPT technology.

“The development of the world’s largest solar-powered data centre was guided by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for advancing sustainable development, The new centre is yet another achievement that raises the UAE’s profile as a leading global player in advancing sustainability and the green economy. The centre provides an exceptional model for combining digital technologies with energy technologies. With a world-class low-carbon information technology infrastructure powered by solar energy, the data centre supports the goal of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Emissions Strategy 2050 to generate 930 of its energy production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer.

“Moro Hub’s solar-powered data centre also supports our efforts to achieve the targets of the Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative. This initiative is particularly significant since it comes in a year in which the UAE is hosting the largest international climate conference, the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 28). The new data centre reflects our commitment to support the development of a sustainable economy and our efforts to transform Dubai into a global green economy hub. Moro Hub has always been a frontrunner in promoting digital transformation and sustainability as well as enhancing its integrated solutions to help organisations and companies reach net-zero carbon emissions,” added Al Tayer.

Moro Hub’s green data centre features ground-breaking solutions from Dell Technologies, Microsoft and Huawei including the latest advances in Internet of Things (IoT), Cybersecurity, Digital Twin Technologies, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cyber Recovery as a Service, Consulting & Professional Services, Managed Services, Residency Services, Network as a Service, Moro Open Cloud and more.

Using 930 renewable energy, the Uptime TIER III-Certified data centre, has a capacity exceeding 100 megawatts (MW). Its area will exceed 16,000 square metres.

An exemplary model for combining cutting-edge digital and power electronic technologies to create an advanced green ICT infrastructure powered by renewable energy, the green data centre offers digital products and services using Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, such as cloud services, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), among others.

“Microsoft remains committed to leading the march towards sustainable digital transformation. Our partnership with Moro Hub is another endeavour to accelerate the growth of sustainable digitisation in the country, driven by our best-in-class technologies. Our digital solutions will enable businesses to avail greater flexibility for managing their operations and strengthen their infrastructure, thereby protecting them from any potential risks that arise from cyber threats,” said Naim Yazbeck, General Manager, Microsoft UAE.

The introduction of Moro Hub’s new solar-powered data centre will further drive the digital transformation of government and private organisations in the UAE, reinforcing their efforts to upgrade their infrastructure to keep pace with new Fourth Industrial Revolution trends.

“Huawei has always been committed to supporting its partners with innovative solutions that will help them accelerate digital transformation across sectors. Our longstanding partnership with Moro Hub is an effort to enhance the experience for their customers, offer higher reliability and help contribute effectively to their vision of transforming the UAE business landscape into a sustainable digital model,” said Jiawei Liu, CEO of Huawei UAE.

Moro Hub’s solar-powered data centre aims to establish a global benchmark for energy efficiency and use of green technologies. By using smart and eco-friendly technologies, the facility will enable business enterprises in the region to unlock new efficiencies.

“It is a pleasure to collaborate with Moro Hub’s solar-powered data centre. At Emirates NBD, sustainable digitisation is the core of our operations, and by utilising the state-of-the-art technology available at the data centre, we will not only be able to enhance our operations, but also manage our customer expectations well. This also gets us a step closer to accelerating the UAE’s goals of net zero carbon by 2050,” said Hesham Abdulla Al Qassem, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Emirates NBD Group.

The new solar-powered data centre will help organisations in the country accelerate the pace of its progress and create innovative and productive work environments while ensuring high levels of productivity.

“We are glad to associate with Moro Hub’s largest solar powered data centre to host our IT workloads. As a leading provider of transformative digital solutions, this partnership will certainly fortify our drive to achieving sustainability, as well as position us a step ahead in the financial industry. We look forward to working together with them and are optimistic that this will be a new chapter that will bring positive results to both parties in the long run,” said Yahya Saeed Ahmed Nasser Lootah, Vice Chairman, Board of Directors, Dubai Islamic Bank.

Ahmed Auda, Vice President and General Manager, Middle East, Turkey and North Africa, VMware, said: “Through this collaboration with Moro Hub, VMware will help empower young talent with the cloud skills and training they need to support digitisation across the UAE in line with initiatives including UAE Digital Government Strategy 2025 and the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, which aims to double the size of Dubai's economy over the next decade and strengthen its position as one of the top three global cities. As the UAE cements its position as a global technology leader, VMware and Moro Hub will give young people access to the technical skills they need to support the transformation plans of both public and private sector organizations.”

The solar-powered data centre will play a major role in developing a new sustainable ecosystem featuring the latest solar energy and storage technologies, AI systems, and sustainability practices. It will also enable global hyper-scalers to access carbon-free computing and help organisations reduce their carbon footprint.

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