Abu Dabhi-based renewables firm Masdar, has closed its acquisition of a 50% stake in a combined solar and battery storage project from EDF Renewables, North America. This was revealed by the firm in a statement without disclosing the financial details of the deal.
Located in California, the stake in Big Beau project was first negotiated and acquired in the year 2020 from EDF Renewables, North America. It comprises a 128-megawatt (MWac) photovoltaic (PV) solar plant and a 40 MW/160 MWh battery energy storage system.
The firm informed that it is one of the eight projects where Masdar and EDF have partnered. Masdar is owned by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Mubadala Investment Company, and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company.
Dr.Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Chairman of Masdar, is also the head of COP-28, said, “If we are to keep the objective of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees alive, we need to see countries coming together in concerted action – one of the key areas of focus for the upcoming COP28 in the UAE. Partnerships between companies like Masdar and EDF Renewables are also vital in ensuring we hold back emissions, not progress.”
In the year 2020, Masdar and EDF Renewables North America had joined hands to jointly partner in the 1.6 GW portfolio, which includes three utility-scale wind projects in Nebraska and Texas totaling 815 MW, and five solar projects in California totaling 689 MW.Out of which, two are battery energy storage systems representing 75 MW. Presently,all of the projects are functioning and claim to displacing more than 3 million tonnes of emissions per year.
Earlier, this year in January, UAE and US officials has agreed to invest $20 billion in 15 GW of clean energy projects in the US before 2035. This will be led by Masdar and a consortium of US private investors, under the Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy (PACE) between the two countries.
Masdar has also announced its plan to invest $1.20 billion in British battery storage technology. It bought the UK-based battery company Arlington Energy last year.
