Masdar and RWE join forces in global wind-power markets
The partnership is set to be a major force in large-scale, international offshore installations
Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) and Germany’s RWE Renewables have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore collaboration on developing offshore wind projects across a range of key markets.
“This agreement will strengthen our existing relationship with RWE, who have 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,” said Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar.
Markus Krebber, CEO of RWE AG added, “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.”
In January 2022, Masdar formed a joint venture company with W Solar Investment for clean energy projects and, in June 2022, it signed agreements with Azerbaijan to develop 10,000MW of clean energy.
Masdar and RWE are shareholders in the London Array project, which has been operational since 2012. The wind farm has an operating capacity of 630MW, powering more than half a million homes, while displacing almost one million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year.
Many countries have set ambitious renewables build-out targets like the UK, the US and South Korea. The UK, which already has the largest installed capacity of offshore wind in the world, is targeting 50GW by 2030 under its Energy Security Strategy.
The US is aiming to deploy 30GW of offshore wind by 2030, as part of President Joe Biden’s ‘Green New Deal’ initiative to halve greenhouse gas emissions by that date, and reach Net Zero by 2050. Korea is also looking to have as much as 20GW of offshore wind capacity by the end of this decade, as it seeks to reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
In August 2022, Masdar backed a solar project in Azerbaijan with $21.4m financing.
