Etihad Credit Insurance to back renewable projects with up to $3bn worth of guarantees

Etihad Credit Insurance, the UAE’s federal export credit agency, plans to provide about $3 billion in guarantees to back renewable energy projects in the country and its developers operating abroad, following the Emirates’ pledge to become climate neutral.

“The total sector will attract approximately $3bn of investment in the UAE for renewable energies. This is what I see in the next couple of years,” Massimo Falcioni, chief executive of Etihad Credit Insurance, told The National.

The $3bn being pledged over the coming years will support developments undertaken by Masdar, as well as those by SkyPower, Mr Falcioni said.

ECI signed a preliminary agreement with utility scale solar developer SkyPower to provide trade credit insurance, export and project finance guarantees, as well as investment protection solutions to help hasten the installation of renewable power capacity.

Earlier this year, the credit agency also committed to backing renewable energy investments being developed by Abu Dhabi’s Masdar.

“We are assisting Masdar now,” Mr Falcioni said. “It is a wind farm project in the region.

“The size is $100 million per ticket. The project is in Uzbekistan, in [Zarafshan]. They announced already and we are supporting that. It would be one of the largest wind farm parks in the world.”

The wind power capacity of the Uzbek project has been expanded to 1.5 gigawatts, with commercial operations expected to begin by the end of 2024.

Uzbekistan has become a hot spot for renewable energy investment from key Middle East players. The country aims to install 5 gigawatts of solar and 3 gigawatts of wind power capacity by 2030, as it focuses on meeting 25 per cent of electricity needs from renewable sources by that year.

The ECI issued Dh3.4bn ($925m) worth of revolving credit guarantees as of September 2021. The volume is three times higher than the guarantees issued last year for the same period, the company said.

“We are supporting projects. So, we are offering our guarantees to lenders, in order to develop, to sustain developers of projects in sustainable energy,” Mr Falcioni said.