UAE’s Masdar, Saudi’s KACARE Sign Deal To Develop Clean Energy

UAE’s Masdar and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE) announced an agreement that will allow increased cooperation between the two Gulf Arab states in developing renewable energy in the region.

The agreement will facilitate joint investment by both agencies in clean energy projects and green technology investment funds, official news agency WAM reported.

It will also create opportunities for collaboration on research and development of advanced solar, wind and water technologies.

“Increased cooperation among GCC countries is crucial to advancing security, stability and sustainable growth throughout the region,” said Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, chairman of Masdar said: “Energy is fundamental to all economic and social development. The enhanced cooperation between Masdar and KACARE will contribute to extending the region’s energy leadership.”

“Masdar shares many strategic objectives with KACARE. By sharing our knowledge and experience with KACARE, we believe that together, we can further advance the use of renewables and ensure our long term economic and energy security.”

KACARE was established in 2010 with the aim of diversifying Saudi Arabia’s energy sources to include nuclear and other forms of renewables.

“As renewable energy solutions approach grid parity, we are confident our combined efforts will contribute to the implementation of renewable energy projects in the region and around the world,” said Hashim bin Abdullah Yamani, president of KACARE.

Gulf countries have increasingly turned to renewables to generate power while Saudi Arabia and the UAE, in particular, have set ambitious targets for clean energy production.

The Kingdom plans to spend around $109 billion on building nuclear and solar power capacity by 2032.

The UAE also aims to spend almost $102 billion on alternative energy by 2020 while Masdar has already deployed close to 1GW of clean energy projects in the UAE and the rest of the world.

Some of the international projects operated by Masdar include a 15MW solar photovoltaic power plant in Mauritania, a 6MW wind farm in Seychelles, a project in Afghanistan that supplies 600 residences with off-grid solar photovoltaic systems and a 500KW solar photovoltaic power plant on the island of Vava’u in Tonga.