US investment firm Stonepeak has announced the launch of WahajPeak, its first dedicated renewables platform in the Middle East, to invest in large-scale clean energy projects across the region.

The platform will focus on utility-scale solar, wind and battery energy storage assets across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the wider Middle East. Mothana Qteishat, former vice president at Jinko Power, has been appointed to lead the new venture.

Stonepeak said the decision was supported by “constructive policy tailwinds” across the region. According to Qteishat, governments across the Middle East and North Africa are targeting the deployment of around 175GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, driving demand for reliable large-scale infrastructure.

The Middle East is already home to some of the world’s largest planned solar projects. In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Public Procurement Company (SPPC) recently awarded contracts for 12GW of solar capacity across five ACWA Power projects, each with at least 2GW. Elsewhere, TotalEnergies has started construction on a 1GW PV project in Iraq, while Qatar recently energized 875MW of solar capacity, doubling its operational output.

Earlier this year, Stonepeak also entered into a US$1 billion partnership with the Arab Energy Fund to invest in energy businesses and critical infrastructure across the region.

“With the establishment of WahajPeak, we are furthering our commitment to the region,” said Hajir Naghdy, senior managing director and head of Asia and the Middle East at Stonepeak.