Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) and Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) have secured the financing of their 1GW Al Dhafra Power Centre, which will provide power for data center projects in the UAE.
The construction of the Al Dhafra Gas Turbine project has started and is being developed by TAQA at a rapid pace. The total cost of the project, which will further the UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031, is estimated at AED3.6 billion (US$1 billion).
Delivering up to 1GW of baseload power daily generated from renewable energy, the Al Dhafra plant will be the largest integrated solar and battery storage (BESS) system in the world.
About 85 percent of the primary funding is through debt financing from local and international banks, including, Standard Chartered Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Doha Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, ICBC, KFW, National Bank of Kuwait, RAK Bank, Woori Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC, and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC,
TAQA retains full ownership of the project
TAQA owns 100 percent of the project company, as well as the operations and maintenance (O&M) company, and will build, own and operate the 1 GW plant. The financial closure of this important infrastructure project follows TAQA’s announcement to sign a 24-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with EWEC in April.
Dr Frank Possmeier, Chief Investment Officer, TAQA’s Generation business, commented: “AI represents a huge opportunity for both economic growth and the growing demand for energy.
“The Al Dhafra Gas Turbine Power Plant is an example of this approach.
“The plant also plays an important role in providing variable load capacity that enables the integration of renewable energy into the system. We are proud to celebrate this milestone, and milestone projects like this one reinforce TAQA’s position as a market leader in reliable, sustainable power generation.”
Developing the UAE’s low carbon energy grid
TAQA Transmission, part of the TAQA Group, will develop an improved electricity grid infrastructure to integrate additional generation capacity from new sources of energy demand, allowing access to reliable, low-carbon energy.
Mohamed Almarzooqi, Chief Asset Development and Management Officer of EWEC, added: “As a key contributor to the UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031, the Al Dhafra facility provides the critical energy infrastructure needed to power the next generation of data centers and strengthen the country’s position as a global leader.
“Additionally, the variable base load capacity delivered by this facility complements our growing pipeline of renewables and battery capacity, providing the transformative power needed to integrate the highest levels of clean energy into the grid.”
The Al Dhafra plant is part of an announced AED36 billion (appx US$10 billion) investment in Abu Dhabi’s energy supply infrastructure by EWEC, TAQA, and Masdar.
With its growth ambitions and its 43 percent shareholding in the renewable energy company Masdar, TAQA aims to grow to 150GW of large-scale power generation by 2030.
