Taqa focuses on clean energy projects as it seeks investment opportunities overseas

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) will advance the UAE’s goal of increasing the share of renewables in the country’s energy mix and “selectively seek” investment opportunities abroad after its asset swap deal with state-owned ADPower.

The transaction allows Taqa to assess opportunities across its generation and transmission units to meet increased demand for water and power in the UAE, the company said in its transformation strategy report.

The report was posted on the website of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange website.

“Internationally, we will follow a disciplined approach and investment assessment framework, focusing on select opportunities with attractive risk-adjusted returns,” Taqa said.

The company said it plans to invest in large-scale projects that fit its core competencies, including in markets where it has a presence. It also expects to enter new markets through the establishment of new partnerships. Taqa’s deal with ADPower, which was completed last month, created one of the largest utility companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with assets worth Dh200 billion.

ADPower transferred most of its water generation, transmission and distribution assets to Taqa in exchange for more than 106.3 billion new shares, boosting Taqa’s asset base and its financial profile.

Taqa generates about 23 gigawatts of electricity and produces about 900 million imperial gallons of water each day. It is now the sole transmission company in Abu Dhabi and has significant infrastructure in six emirates, the report said.

Taqa said it plans to have solar and reverse osmosis account for 20 per cent and 50 per cent of its generation capacities by 2030, “further improving our clean energy credentials”.

Earlier this month, a consortium led by Taqa and Masdar, in partnership with France’s EDF and JinkoPower, won a contract to develop the world’s largest solar power plant with a total capacity of 2 gigawatts in Abu Dhabi.

The tariff for the project, awarded by the Emirates Water and Electricity Company, was set at Dh4.97 fils per kilowatt hour ($1.35 cents/kWh) on a levelised cost of electricity basis.

The project’s financial closure is set for the third quarter of this year and will increase Abu Dhabi’s solar power capacity to about 3.2 gigawatts, once the plant is fully operational.

Taqa also made a Dh900 million push to expand its recycled water distribution programme last month when its subsidiary, the Abu Dhabi Distribution Company, awarded contracts for two projects with a combined capacity of about 85 million imperial gallons of recycled water that can irrigate more than 3.5 million palm trees.

Taqa, which in the past focused on oil and gas, said with its “substantial new scale in the utilities space” and further opportunities of growth within the segment, its existing international oil and gas assets will account for a smaller share of its overall portfolio.