Gulf States Accelerate Overseas Renewable Energy Investments Amid Hormuz Strait Crisis

According to Fortune magazine, Gulf nations including the UAE and Saudi Arabia are accelerating investments in overseas renewable energy projects on June 1 amid the Hormuz Strait crisis and disruptions to regional energy supplies. The International Energy Agency noted that months-long Iran-related tensions have caused one of the largest supply disruptions in global oil market history.

As part of this shift, UAE renewable energy giant Masdar and France's TotalEnergies signed a $2.2 billion joint venture to integrate their onshore renewable operations across nine Asian countries. Masdar's global renewable capacity has reached 65GW as of January, up from 51GW in 2025, with a target of 100GW by 2030. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala has invested in U.S. energy management platform Power Factors and the UK's Hornsea 3 offshore wind project. However, the crisis is disrupting local renewable projects, with solar component imports to the UAE and Saudi Arabia plunging in March, while shipping costs from Shanghai to the Gulf have surged to $4,131 per 20-foot container from pre-crisis levels of $980.