Masdar, RWE Renewables partner to develop offshore wind projects across key markets

Masdar and Germany’s RWE Renewables have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly develop offshore wind projects in a range of key markets.

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, said, “This agreement will strengthen our existing relationship with RWE, which has been a long-standing partner with us on the London Array offshore wind farm, one of the largest in the world, while also representing an opportunity to expand our capabilities in offshore wind, a market which we see as having key strategic importance.

“By leveraging our two companies’ extensive expertise in this sector, we can help other nations to meet their offshore wind targets, transition to clean energy sources, and meet their net-zero objectives.”

Markus Krebber, CEO of RWE AG, said, “The acceleration of the energy transition remains key to tackling both the current energy crisis and the climate crisis. This is what we are doing at RWE with massive investments in renewable energy projects – on our own and together with partners.

“I am very pleased that we will join forces with Masdar, a known and reliable partner to RWE for years in our London Array offshore wind farm. Together we will explore the potential for widening the scope of our partnership in offshore wind to further projects.”

Masdar and RWE are shareholders in the London Array project, which has been operational since 2012. The wind farm has an operating capacity of 630 megawatts, powering more than half a million homes while displacing almost one million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

Masdar is increasingly developing offshore wind projects, as it aims to reach 100 GW total capacity by 2030. As well as the London Array, Masdar’s existing offshore projects are the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm, also in the UK, and Hywind Scotland, the world’s first floating offshore wind farm, which became operational in October 2017.

Read: Abu Dhabi’s Masdar acquires 25% stake in Scottish offshore wind farm

RWE has an extensive investment and growth programme of EUR50bn gross, the company will expand its green portfolio to 50 gigawatts by 2030, including offshore and onshore wind, solar and battery storage.

The announcement was made following the signing of the Energy Security, Climate Action and Industry Accelerator Growth Pact (ESIA) between the UAE and Germany.

Read: UAE and Germany sign new energy agreement

As part of the ESIA, Masdar will actively explore offshore wind opportunities in Germany’s North and Upper Baltic Sea, with sights set on up to 10 GW renewable energy production capacity by 2030.