- Masdar signed renewable energy agreements with several countries at the COP28
- In Angola, it plans to develop a 150 MW AC solar power plant in Hulia province’s Quipungo region
- It is also advancing its renewable energy business in other geographies as Malaysia, Greece, Indonesia and Kyrgyz Republic
The Ministry of Energy and Water in Angola has signed a concession agreement with Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company Masdar for a 150 MW AC solar power plant. It will enable the country to achieve its national electrification rate to around 60% by 2025, stated the company.
The agreement paves the way for the solar power plant to come up in the Quipungo region of Hulia province in Southern Angola. Masdar said the region is high on solar irradiation, but low on access to reliable electricity.
On completion, the solar power plant will displace more than 224,000 tons of carbon emissions/year, delivering renewable energy to 90,000 homes. It will support homes and businesses to ‘leapfrog’ from patchy, traditional-fuel powered electricity to accessing continuous clean energy, including agriculture sector. During the construction phase, up to 600 jobs are expected to be created.
Masdar says the 150 MW AC project is part of its commitment to develop 5 GW of renewable energy projects across Angola, Uganda and Zambia.
Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi said, “Our mission is to fast-track and scale projects so we can deliver 10 GW of clean energy in Africa by 2030. Masdar is an anchor partner of the UAE-led Africa Green Investment Initiative and has committed to mobilize US$10 billion in clean energy finance, of which US$2 billion will be generated from equity with an additional $8 billion from project finance. This transformative project in Angola is a proud milestone on that pivotal journey.”
The concession agreement between Masdar and the Angolan Energy Ministry was signed at United Nations’ COP28 conference in Dubai where the former signed several other contracts, including the following:
Malaysia
Masdar signed on an implementation roadmap to advance the development of 10 GW of clean energy projects in Malaysia, with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA). This follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) the duo signed in October 2023. It paves the way for 5 additional agreements to develop new solar and wind energy projects in the Southeast Asian nation, comprising up to 1 GW solar PV capacity with independent power producer (IPP) Malakoff, a joint development agreement with Citaglobal Berhad and Tiza Global for 2 GW solar plants, and a MoU with Citaglobal Berhad and TNB Renewables to develop 2 GW renewable energy projects. In July 2023, Masdar signed an MoU with Citaglobal Berhad to build 2 GW renewable energy projects in Malaysia, including solar (see GW-Scale Renewables Partnership For Malaysia).
Kyrgyz Republic
Along with France’s EDF, it signed an agreement with the Ministry of Energy of the Kyrgyz Republic to develop up to 3.6 GW of hydro and renewable energy projects, including solar, floating solar, onshore and offshore wind, floating wind, geothermal, battery energy storage systems and green hydrogen.
Greece
With the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy, Masdar signed a preliminary cooperation agreement to sponsor green infrastructure projects on the island of Poros, including a solar power plant of around 7 MW capacity. It is part of the GR-Eco Islands initiative of the Greek government that aims to transform its islands into models of sustainable development.
Indonesia
With its existing partner, PLN Nusantara Power (PLN NP), Masdar signed agreements to advance their plans to expand the 192 MW DC/145 MW AC Cirata Floating Solar PV Plant to up to 500 MW. Both the companies plan to undertake a joint study into tripling the project’s capacity, and also explore renewable energy options around the world while investigating the development of green hydrogen. The Cirata project came online in November 2023 as the largest floating PV plant in Southeast Asia (see SE Asia’s Largest Floating Solar Plant Inaugurated).
For Masdar, all of these agreements are part of its target to reach 100 GW renewable energy capacity and 1 million tons of green hydrogen capacity by 2030. Currently, it has a total combined electricity generation capacity of over 20 GW.
