Dubai's Al Rayyan Mosque named world's 1st carbon-neutral mosque

DUBAI: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has announced that Al Rayyan Mosque in Hatta has become the world’s first place of worship to be awarded the prestigious Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Zero Carbon certification from the US Green Buildings Council.

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The mosque achieved this by offsetting 175% of its yearly carbon emissions, allowing it to actively contribute to environmental recovery - a global model for sustainable architecture.

The milestone is the mosque’s third world record in energy leadership and environmental design. Back in 2021, it became the first mosque globally to receive LEED Platinum certification under LEED v4, scoring an impressive 83 points for its sustainable design. Then, in 2024, it earned the LEED Zero Energy certification, producing 150% of its energy needs through highly efficient solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and sending the surplus back to the grid. The cloud base monitoring system's PV panels have a total capacity of 158kWp. Moreover, the 2025 certification stands as a pioneering example of how places of worship can lead in environmental restoration and climate-positive design.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, expressed his pride in this new global achievement, highlighting how it reinforces DEWA's leadership in sustainable building design, supports the UAE’s and Dubai's strategic vision for urban sustainability and advances national and global goals to achieve net zero by 2050.