Abu Dhabi's Masdar enters alliance to tap renewable energy projects in Israel
Along with EDF, Masdar will take on existing or new projects in new market
Dubai: Abu Dhabi's Masdar will be exploring renewable energy opportunities in Israel, through an alliance with the French energy major EDF Renewables.
Israel is targeting 30 per cent of its energy coming from renewable sources by 2030, up from a previous target of 17 per cent, as it looks to phase out coal use. Achieving this requires an additional 15 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity to be developed in the next nine years.
Masdar and EDF Renewables' Israel operations will collaborate on "existing renewable energy projects, and projects under development, while also exploring joint participation in new programs announced by the government," Masdar said in a statement.
* They also have a partnership going on for an 800-megawatt (MW) third phase at Dubai's Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.
* A third one is as part of a consortium developing the largest wind farm in the Middle East, the 400MW Dumat Al Jandal project in Saudi Arabia.
* They also have an exposure in the US through eight alternate energy projects.
"We are seeing the first fruits of the Abraham Accords in the field of energy," said Dr. Yuval Steinitz, Israel's Minister of Energy. "The new partnership between Masdar from the United Arab Emirates and EDF - an international company that invests in renewable energy around the world and operates in Israel for a decade - is an expression of confidence in Israel's energy market and will help us achieve our goal of becoming a world leader in solar energy within six to seven years."
The UAE and Israel have embarked on a new era of co-operation on renewable energy and associated technologies, which will benefit both our nations and support our clean-energy objectives