French utility company Engie is targeting a renewable energy capacity of 80 gigawatts by 2030 from 35 gigawatts at present as it plans to extend its global clean energy portfolio.
The company is planning to start new projects in Europe, the US, the Middle East and Africa and Australia, Frederic Claux, Engie’s country manager for GCC and Pakistan told The National on the sidelines of the World Green Economy Summit in Dubai on Wednesday.
“We want to grow to 80 [gigawatts] by 2030 and are looking at different countries,” said Mr Claux, who is also the company's managing director of thermal and supply for Asia, Middle East and Africa.
The projects involve a “lot of money and we are going to partner with some other companies in terms of equity”, he said.
Companies globally are investing heavily in new clean energy projects as the world focuses on cutting emissions to limit global warming. Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power this week said it will increase its renewable capacity to 120 gigawatts in the next 10 years, from 43 gigawatts currently.
Global investment in the renewable energy sector climbed 11 per cent year on year to $226 billion in the first half of 2022, according to an August report by research provider BloombergNEF.
Investment in new large and small-scale solar projects rose 33 per cent to a record-breaking $120bn during the period, while wind project financing grew 16 per cent to $84bn, the report said.
Engie also aims to expand in the renewables sector in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s two largest economies. The company is planning to bid for the 1.5 gigawatts Al Abjan solar project in Abu Dhabi as well as new renewable projects in Saudi Arabia.
“The governments in the region have massive ambitions in terms of growing renewables and they have also pledged to become net zero, by 2050 for the UAE and 2060 for Saudi Arabia. The energy transition is in motion and there are huge opportunities in the sector,” Mr Claux said.
The UAE, Opec's third-largest oil producer, has Dh600bn ($163.5bn) worth of clean and renewable energy investments planned over the next three decades.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, aims to grow the share of gas and renewable energy in its power mix to 50 per cent by 2030. The kingdom this week launched five new renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 3.3 gigawatts, including three wind projects and two solar schemes.
“There is a bright future in the region, especially with the availability of vast land, and radiation from the sun is much better … it’s not exactly a windy region but if you go to the northern part of Saudi [Arabia], in front of Sinai and Egypt, this area is good for wind conditions.”
Engie is at present working with a dairy farm in Saudi Arabia to supply solar energy for the company and reduce its carbon footprint.
It is also phasing out coal plants as it aims to become carbon neutral by 2045. It plans to phase out coal plants in Europe by 2025 and globally by 2027.
“We started to divest or close our power plants 10 years ago, so it’s almost complete. Last week, we announced divestment in Brazil, one of the last coal plants we still had,” Mr Claux said.
The company continues to operate gas-fired power plants and “it’s kind of a necessary ingredient [gas] in energy transition because of the intermittency of renewables”, he said.
The gas network will provide the flexibility that is needed to support the grid and to support the energy transition, he said.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Arabian Gulf Cup FINAL
Al Nasr 2
(Negredo 1, Tozo 50)
Shabab Al Ahli 1
(Jaber 13)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
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The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
Brief scores:
Barcelona 3
Pique 38', Messi 51 (pen), Suarez 82'
Rayo Vallecano 1
De Tomas Gomez 24'
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