Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, better known as Taqa, will develop greenfield projects and boost its growth in the renewable energy sector through acquisitions, according to the company's executive director of generation.
The Abu Dhabi-listed utility aims to generate more than 30 per cent of its power from clean sources by 2030, compared with 5 per cent currently, Farid Al Awlaqi told The National.
“We are going to pursue organic and inorganic opportunities through greenfield development, through acquisitions ... projects under development or projects in operations, so all options are open,” he said on the sidelines of the World Utilities Congress in Abu Dhabi.
The company will pursue organic and inorganic opportunities in the Mena region and other countries, Mr Al Awlaqi said.
“Our area of strength is where we are present today, which is Mena … following opportunities outside the region is also on the table,” he said. “We are present in several GCC countries. We are also present in North Africa and we are going to continue to grow that.”
Apart from the UAE, Taqa has operations in countries such as Canada, Ghana, India, Iraq, Morocco, Oman, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, the UK and the US.
Taqa has significant investments in power and water generation, as well as in the oil and gas sector. It plans to invest Dh40 billion ($10.9bn) in infrastructure development as it focuses on its push into renewable energy under its 2030 strategy.
On Thursday, the company reported a 37 per cent surge in its first-quarter profit as revenue grew during the period on the back of higher oil prices.
Net profit attributable to the equity holders for the three-month period to the end of March rose to Dh1.97 billion ($536 million). Revenue during the period jumped 20 per cent to Dh12.4bn.
In the UAE, Taqa's projects include the Taweelah A1, Taweelah A2, Shuweihat S1 and Mirfa International power and water plants.
In the renewables sector, the company holds a 60 per cent stake in the 1.2-gigawatt Noor Abu Dhabi solar plant, the world’s largest single-site solar photovoltaic plant.
Taqa is also developing a 2-gigawatt solar plant in Al Dhafra, Abu Dhabi, in partnership with Masdar, France’s EDF renewables and China’s JinkoPower.
“We have a 30 per cent target in renewables and we already have 5 per cent in place,” Mr Al Awlaqi said.
On Tuesday, Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec) announced plans for a 1,500-megawatt solar project in Abu Dhabi's Al Ajban district and this is “going to be feeding towards the ambition of our 30 gigawatts here in the UAE”, he said.
“And, at the same time, we are also pursuing other projects overseas at the moment,” Mr Al Awlaqi said.
Ewec asked companies on Tuesday to submit an expression of interest for the development of Al Ajban solar plant.
The project involves the development, financing, construction, operation, maintenance and ownership of the plant and associated infrastructure.
“[A] lot of the projects, especially on the renewable side, are developed by Ewec but we are entitled to a minimum of 40 per cent stake in those projects,” said Mr Al Awlaqi.
“So, whatever Ewec finally arrives [at] as projected plans in renewables, we will have a guaranteed stake in that.”
Taqa is also teaming up with Emirates Global Aluminium, Dubal Holding and Ewec to further develop solar power capacity in Abu Dhabi.
As part of the deal, Taqa and Dubal Holding plan to acquire EGA’s power-generation assets in the UAE, with each company holding a 50 per cent stake.
The power generated from the assets will be supplied to the grid under a long-term power purchase agreement with Ewec’s load dispatch centre, Taqa said earlier this year.
The Abu Dhabi utility plans to expand its generating capacity in the UAE to 30 gigawatts by 2030, from the current 18 gigawatts, and its global generating capacity by 15 gigawatts as it continues to look for new opportunities.
The company is also developing a water and power project in Saudi Arabia in partnership with Japan’s Marubeni Corporation and Saudi Aramco.
Taqa is optimistic about hydrogen as demand for the clean fuel grows amid mounting climate change concerns.
“Taqa has committed to deliver on the UAE’s strategy on net zero by 2050. Investments in renewable technology is a big step towards that,” Mr Al Awlaqi said.
“At the same time, we are also open to new technologies … so hydrogen is also a very interesting green fuel of the future. There are a lot of bets being made on it, as well as other things. We are investing in all of them, and hydrogen is one of them.”
The company is “well positioned to develop projects in green hydrogen because 60 per cent of the cost of green hydrogen comes from power, and we understand the renewable power side very well”, Mr Al Awlaqi said.
“We have developed the most competitive projects in the world when it comes to renewable energy, so we are in a big position to lend something towards developing green hydrogen as a market.”
Last year, Taqa signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi Ports to develop a 2-gigawatt green ammonia project in the UAE. It also plans to supply Emirates Steel with green hydrogen for steel production.
The company is also set to become a shareholder in Abu Dhabi’s clean energy company Masdar, alongside Adnoc and Mubadala Investment Company.
Upon the completion of the transaction in the coming months, Taqa will take a 43 per cent stake in Masdar’s renewable energy business while Mubadala and Adnoc will retain 33 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively.
Taqa will also be taking a 24 per cent stake in Masdar’s green hydrogen business, with Adnoc holding 43 per cent and Mubadala 33 per cent.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas
Three stars
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Results:
First Test: New Zealand 30 British & Irish Lions 15
Second Test: New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24
Third Test: New Zealand 15 British & Irish Lions 15
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Company%20Profile
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NEW ARRIVALS
Benjamin Mendy (Monaco) - £51.75m (Dh247.94m)
Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur) - £45.9m
Bernardo Silva (Monaco) - £45m
Ederson Moraes (Benfica) - £36m
Danilo (Real Madrid) - £27m
Douglas Luiz (Vasco de Gama) - £10.8m
Adele: The Stories Behind The Songs
Caroline Sullivan
Carlton Books
if you go
The flights
Emirates have direct flights from Dubai to Glasgow from Dh3,115. Alternatively, if you want to see a bit of Edinburgh first, then you can fly there direct with Etihad from Abu Dhabi.
The hotel
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Located in the heart of Mackintosh's Glasgow, the Dakota Deluxe is perhaps the most refined hotel anywhere in the city. Doubles from Dh850
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Events and tours
There are various Mackintosh specific events throughout 2018 – for more details and to see a map of his surviving designs see glasgowmackintosh.com
For walking tours focussing on the Glasgow Style, see the website of the Glasgow School of Art.
More information
For ideas on planning a trip to Scotland, visit www.visitscotland.com
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The distance learning plan
Spring break will be from March 8 - 19
Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm
Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19
Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning
Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
