How to Set Up a Solar or Renewable-Energy Development Company

Four roles share one industry and rarely one company. A developer originates the project, secures the site and approvals and carries early-stage spend. An owner holds the asset and its debt. An EPC contractor designs and builds it. An operator runs it for years.

A developer that never owns or operates may sit outside the generation perimeter altogether. An entity that owns generating plant and sells power rarely does. Decide which of the four roles this company will perform, and which sit with the utility, licensed contractors or partners. That position is the first thing landowners, utilities and lenders ask for.

Power is regulated by the emirate. In Abu Dhabi the DoE's Electricity Generation Licensing Guide for Self-Supply Purposes (effective 1 January 2023) sets three licence types. An Instant Licence covers up to 5 MWp at one location or up to 30 MWp across several, runs for 1 year and needs no public notice. A Development Licence is for projects that generate power on-site to support construction of new developments, for up to 5 years. A Self-Supply Licence is for generation mainly for the applicant's own use, for up to 25 years. Both of those apply above the Instant Licence capacities, need an eligibility check and a public notice of not less than 28 days, and are applied for on TAMM. The same guide says licences for limited-scale residential solar, and net energy metering for limited-scale photovoltaic panels, remain suspended. The DoE site also carries headlines on a Solar Energy Self-Supply Policy launched in 2026 with a second phase since announced. The page gives no detail of either phase, so read the policy itself before you design an Abu Dhabi rooftop or captive project around it.

In Dubai, DEWA is the utility, so confirm its current programmes and connection rules with it directly. The u.ae portal lists four authorities on the Emirates National Grid: Etihad Water and Electricity, the DoE and EWEC in Abu Dhabi, DEWA, and the Sharjah Electricity, Water and Gas Authority (SEWA). It reports 6,449 MW of installed solar capacity in the UAE. The MOEI site lists the UAE Energy Strategy 2050 and a laws and policies section, which is the federal frame.

Do not assume that a rule in one emirate holds in another. A rooftop programme, a self-supply route and a utility-scale tender each have their own gatekeeper, and a company planning projects in two emirates needs two answers.

A single generic company that holds the pipeline, every asset and the contracting staff is hard to finance. Lenders want each asset in its own project company, with its own contracts, accounts and security. Development spend sits in a parent or development entity. People and delivery risk sit with a contracting or operations entity.

Each entity needs a genuine project role. A structure built around the cheapest registration tends to be rebuilt at financial close, which is the most expensive moment to rebuild it. Setting up a mainland company and the free zone or mainland choice matter less here than where the site, the grid connection and the buyer are. Land, connection and generation permissions come from outside any licence package, wherever the entity registers.

The scale also changes the structure. Utility-scale projects use a project company and long-term power contracts. Commercial and industrial rooftop providers sell power, lease equipment or share savings, and the contract form decides how the asset is owned and financed. Captive generation for the company's own use is a different route again.

Three things gate a project before any money is raised.

Site control. A pipeline without site rights is a list of ideas. Lenders and offtakers read it that way.

Grid connection. The utility's connection assumptions drive the price and the timeline. Price nothing before you have a view on them.

A buyer. The power sale, lease or savings contract is what a lender reads. The entity that signs it should hold the capability and the risk the contract assumes.

Environmental and planning approvals sit alongside these. The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) is the federal environmental authority, and local planning and environmental bodies apply in the emirate. Ask which approvals your site and technology need and in what order.

Banks and lenders underwrite the project, not the licence. The pipeline in the deck, the assumptions in the financial model and the counterparties in the contracts must describe the same project. Before onboarding, be ready to show:

Business plans and documentation covers how that pack is built, and corporate bank account readiness covers the account side. A consistent file earns faster review. It does not guarantee an account, financing or approval.

The licence is a minor line. Studies, land, equipment, construction and long-term contracts are the budget, and they scale with the pipeline and not with the number of entities. The cost depends on the route and the roles, and Velarozone's own fee is itemised in the engagement letter before work starts. The way we scope that is set out in how Velarozone works.