Abu Dhabi: Renewable energy company Masdar is looking for more investment opportunities as demand for clean energy goes up, its chief executive officer Mohammad Al Ramahi said in Abu Dhabi at the World Future Energy Summit on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia said this week that it would be investing up to $50 billion (Dh183 billion) by 2023 on renewable projects. The UAE is also going big on clean energy with a target of 44 per cent by 2050.
“We are looking for more opportunities to expand our footprint. We are looking at GCC region, North Africa, Levant and India to start new projects,” Al Ramahi said while speaking at the summit. “Good policies and regulations are critical for new investments. We will go to those countries where the policies are good and the chances of profitability are more,” he added.
The company has deployed capital worth $2.7 billion in various projects across the globe including in the United Kingdom, Jordan, UAE, Spain, Morocco, Egypt and Mauritania.
On Tuesday, the company has announced that it has acquired a 25 per cent stake in Hywind Scotland, a 30-megawatt (MW) floating offshore pilot wind farm in the North Sea.
Due to start commercial operation in late 2017, Hywind Scotland is the world’s first floating offshore wind farm. The project consists of five 6MW floating wind turbines anchored to the seabed. The value of the transaction is not known.
“Masdar is excited to join the team developing the world’s first floating wind farm, and to build on our partnership with Statoil,” said Al Ramahi said in a statement.
Hywind Scotland is the second offshore wind partnership between Masdar and Statoil after the Dudgeon wind farm, a 402MW project also due to come on-stream by the second half of 2017, Masdar said in a statement.
Dudgeon, Hywind Scotland and the 630MW London Array — currently the world’s largest offshore wind farm in operation — will bring Masdar’s gross renewable energy generating capacity in the United Kingdom to 1.06 gigawatts (GW), enough power to supply 6,600 homes and displace 63,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.
Masdar also signed a cooperation agreement on Tuesday with Qatar Electricity & Water Company and Nebras Power to develop renewable and sustainable energy projects in the UAE, Qatar and other international markets.
