ACWA Power has signed several agreements that are in aggregate worth $746m on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative (FII7) in Riyadh.
These include a $500m Heads of Terms agreement with institutional investor EIG, an aggregate project financing amount of $246m with the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) and the OPEC Fund for International Development (The OPEC Fund) for the development of a 240MW wind power project in Azerbaijan.
The wind project is the first foreign investment-based independent wind power project in the Republic of Azerbaijan, structured as a public-private partnership (PPP) at a total investment cost of $347m.
ACWA Power chief executive Marco Arcelli said: “ACWA Power is enthusiastic about playing a pivotal role in helping Azerbaijan achieve its goal of meeting 30% of its energy needs through renewable sources by 2030.
“We are deeply grateful to our financing partners, the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development and the OPEC Fund for International Development, for their unwavering support in making this vision a reality.”
The national electrical power company Azerenerji is the sole offtaker for the project.
ACWA Power and EIG have agreed to cooperate in power generation, water desalination, green hydrogen and green ammonia projects, with a specific focus on investing in projects in Gulf countries and Uzbekistan.
“This is a landmark agreement with EIG, one of the world’s largest infrastructure investment firms,” said chief executive of ACWA Power Marco Arcelli.
“Their commitment to working with ACWA Power is a sign of confidence in the company’s strong position in power, water, and green hydrogen, and we look forward to collaborating in these areas.”