Top executives from the four entities entered an agreement to work together on the Noor Energy 1 Plant, engage in knowledge-sharing and to collectively pursue future opportunities.

From-L-R_Paddy-Padmanathan,-President-&-CEO-of-ACWA-Power,-Abengoa-Executive-Chairman-Gonzalo-Urquijo,-ICBC-Chairman-Yi-Huiman,-SEGC-CEO-Huang-Ou

ACWA Power, a leading developer, owner, and operator of power generation and water desalination plants, is delighted to announce its partnership with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC), Shanghai Electric Group Co., Ltd (SEGC), and Spanish company Abengoa, with regards to the 950 MW Noor Energy 1 Plant in Dubai which is the largest renewable energy project in the world.

In the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping, during his official visit to Spain, and the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, top executives from the four entities entered an agreement to work together on the Noor Energy1 Plant, engage in knowledge-sharing and to collectively pursue future opportunities.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Paddy Padmanathan, President & Chief Executive Officer of ACWA Power; Mr. Yi Huiman, Chairman of ICBC;  Mr. Huang Ou, CEO of SEGC; and Mr. Gonzalo URQUIJO, Executive Chairman of Abengoa in The Official Residence of the President of Government of Spain.

ACWA Power is lead developer on the project while ICBC has established its role as an international lender for Noor Energy 1. Earlier this year ACWA Power signed an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) agreement with Shanghai Electric Group Co., Ltd (SEGC), Abengoa is one of the main technology providers and key subcontractors for the plant.

Paddy Padmanathan, Chief Executive Officer of ACWA Power, said: “the coming together of the four enterprises who are leaders in our own respective fields: ACWA Power a leader in development & operation of power plants, Abengoa, Concentrated Solar Power Technology provider, Shanghai Electric, EPC Contractor and ICBC Project finance MLA; from three countries, Spain, China and Saudi Arabia to deliver this iconic  energy plant that will deliver electricity day and night generated entirely by solar energy at a competitive cost in yet another country such as the UAE is the proof of the immense valuethat can be created by collaboration than isolation very much reflecting the spirit of the belt and road strategy that is being implemented by China under President Xi’s leadership.”. 

“We are proud to be the catalysts for this collaboration on a global scalein this instance focused at accelerating the decarbonisation of power generation by enabling the reliable delivery of solar power day and night and look forward to working with these entities within the framework of this cooperation agreement to identify and execute meaningful market opportunities that will allow us to continue to reliably deliver electricity and desalinated water at the lowest cost.” 

The DEWA IV IPP project, which was awarded to an ACWA Power led consortiumin 2017, is the 4th phase of the Mohamed bin Rashid Solar Park, the largest single-site concentrated solar power plant in the world. The project, initially expected to deliver 700 MW of energy, will use a state-of-the-art combination of the world’s tallest 260-meter-high solar tower that will generate 100MW, three stations of parabolic trough concentrated solar power (CSP) each producing 200MW, and 250MW generated from photovoltaic panels to yield a total capacity output of 950MW.

The project is projected to deliver electricity at a levelised tariff of US $7.323 cents per kilowatt-hour 24 hours a day; a cost level that competes with fossil fuel generated electricity without subsidy for reliable and dispatchable solar energy around the clock. The plant will support the Dubai Clean Energy strategy 2050 to increase the share of clean energy in Dubai to 25% by 2030 and is expected to provide an annual saving of 2.4 Million tons of CO2.

The project is in line with ICBC’s concept of green credit. ICBC is committed to the long term development of green credit and will continuously follow international standards and practices in overseas projects, at the sametime helping customers to effectively manage environmental and social risks when serving overseas investment in future.