Acwa Power 'working on $67.4bn sustainable projects across the globe'


Acwa Power, a key Saudi developer of power and water desalination projects, has announced that 65 projects worth SR253.4 billion ($67.4 billion) within its portfolio are either in operation, construction or advanced development stage across the globe.

Acwa Power, a leading Saudi developer of power generation and water desalination plants, has a total of 65 projects worth SR253.4 billion ($67.4 billion) in the operation, construction or advanced development stage across the globe, said its top official. 
 
These projects, which are mostly focused at providing sustainable solutions, will be generating 43.4 GW of electricity and producing 6.4 million cu m per day of desalinated water, remarked its Chairman Mohammad Abunayyan while releasing the Q1 results yesterday (May 18).
 
The other major operational highlights for the first quarter of 2022 include:
 
•Neom green hydrogen project, the world’s largest at-scale green hydrogen and ammonia project, has now moved into the construction phase. 
 
A Limited Notice to Proceed (LNTP) for SR3.4 billion was signed in relation to the EPC contract by Acwa Power and its consortium of partners.
 
•The Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) was signed for the 700MW Ar Rass Solar PV IPP in Saudi Arabia, which is estimated to cost SR1.7 billion. Acwa Power has emerged as the lowest bidder for the project as part of Round Three of the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) of the Ministry of Energy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
 
•Acwa closed the finance deal worth SR4.9 billion for the development, construction, operations and maintenance of the Red Sea multi-utilities project.
 
•The Saudi group concluded the sale of entire shareholding in Shuqaiq Water and Electricity Company, an oil-fired asset, along with its related holding companies and partial shareholding in the operations and maintenance service providing entity. The sale will remove 1.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year from Acwa Power’s portfolio.  
 
Also Acwa Power announced the conversion of operation of 2,400 MW Hassyan IPP in Dubai, UAE from clean coal to natural gas. 
 
With operation on natural gas instead of coal, the project will avoid approximately 30 million tonne of CO2 emissions by 2030. This change means that Acwa Power has eliminated all coal fired assets from its portfolio. 
 
"While no projects achieved financial close during this period, Rabigh Arabian Water and Electricity Company (Rawec), an independent water, steam and power producer and a subsidiary of Acwa Power supplying these utilities on a captive basis to Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Company (Petro Rabigh), a facility of Saudi Aramco, concluded the phase two of its debt refinancing," remarked Abunayyan. 
 
"As 2022 unfolds, we look forward to strengthening our portfolio in existing and potential markets and assist governments as they work towards diversifying their energy mix with sustainable options in power generation, water desalination and green hydrogen," he added.
 
"With new contributions from several projects achieving their initial or project commercial operation dates since the first quarter of 2021, we are pleased to report a solid start to 2022," stated CEO and Vice Chairman Paddy Padmanathan. 
 
"As we work diligently to evolve our portfolio towards sustainable solutions, whether it is through expansion of our renewable portfolio, conversion to cleaner forms of energy source in our plants, investing in the largest green hydrogen and ammonia project in the world for cleaner fuel or altogether divesting fossil fuel-fired plants, our focus on driving sustainable change remains undeterred," noted Padmanathan.
 
Kashif Rana, Chief Financial Officer and Acting Chief Portfolio Management Officer, said: "Looking ahead to 2022, Acwa Power has access to diverse funding options that include our existing level of strong liquidity to finance our visible pipeline of power, water and green hydrogen projects." 
 
"While higher costs and supply chain challenges persist and create pressure over our EPC partners, we do recognize the need for a sustainable and more permanent solution to mitigate these stresses," added Rana.-TradeArabia News Service