Abu Dhabi clean energy company Masdar and Indonesia's PLN Nusantara Power have signed an agreement to triple the capacity of South-East Asia's largest floating solar photovoltaic power plant.
The companies will be developing the second phase of the Cirata plant in West Java, Indonesia, which will boost its capacity by up to 500 megawatts, Masdar said in a statement on Tuesday.
The 145MW Cirata plant, built over a 250-hectare plot in the 6,200-hectare Cirata Reservoir, is Masdar’s first floating solar PV project and first renewable energy project in the South-East Asian market.
It aims to deliver renewable energy to about 50,000 homes, cut emissions and "create widespread change in communities", Masdar said.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by Suhail Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Indonesia’s Minister of Defence Prabowo Subianto and Indonesia’s Co-ordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan, at the UAE-Indonesia Business Forum in Jakarta.
“The UAE and Indonesia share a common vision of achieving sustainable development and realise that renewables are at the heart of this vision. I am pleased to see that this partnership has been taken to the next level," Mr Al Mazrouei said.
"Such partnerships feed into our priorities for Cop28, where the energy transition will be front and centre with a concerted push to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030.”
The Cop28 climate change conference is scheduled to be held in Dubai from November 30 to December 12 and is expected to be the most inclusive yet. Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, is the Cop28 President-designate.
Indonesia, whose geothermal energy sector is the second largest after the US, has launched plans to boost its renewable energy mix and pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2060 or sooner.
The South-East Asian nation has committed to a 29 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, or a 41 per cent reduction with international support.
Increasing the use of renewable energy could save Indonesia, the largest energy user in the Association of South-East Asian Nations, as much as $51.7 billion a year when the effects on air pollution and climate change are included, data from the International Renewable Energy Agency found.
The country is also a key strategic market in South-east Asia for Masdar, which has an expanding portfolio of interests. In 2021, it opened an office in the capital Jakarta to further boost its ties with key players in the region.
In February, Masdar announced its investment in Pertamina Geothermal Energy, a unit of Indonesia's state energy firm Pertamina, marking its entry into the country’s geothermal energy sector.
Last year, Masdar formed a joint venture with Jakarta-based Mitrabara to provide renewable energy solutions. In 2020, Masdar formed a joint venture with PT PJBI, a subsidiary of Indonesia’s state electricity company, to develop the country’s first floating solar project, which is also one of the largest in the world.
“Masdar, the UAE and Indonesia are pushing the boundaries of innovation with the Cirata floating solar photovoltaic project," said Mohamed Al Ramahi, chief executive of Masdar.
"Within the key strategic markets of South-east Asia and Indonesia, Masdar is building on our productive partnership with PLN group to grow renewable energy capacity and support Indonesia’s ambitious net-zero objectives ahead of Cop28 and beyond.”
In July, Mubadala Energy, another major Abu Dhabi company and the oil and gas unit of the emirate's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company, signed an agreement with Pertamina to explore carbon capture initiatives in the nation.
MATCH INFO
Day 1 at Mount Maunganui
England 241-4
Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28
New Zealand
Yet to bat
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
Results
5pm: Warsan Lake – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m; Winner: Dhaw Al Reef, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Al Quadra Lake – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Mrouwah Al Gharbia, Sando Paiva, Abubakar Daud
6pm: Hatta Lake – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: AF Yatroq, George Buckell, Ernst Oertel
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Ashton Tourettes, Adries de Vries, Ibrahim Aseel
7pm: Abu Dhabi Championship – Listed (PA) Dh180,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Bahar Muscat, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Zakher Lake – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Alfareeq, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.
TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
More from our neighbourhood series:
Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
'I Want You Back'
Director:Jason Orley
Stars:Jenny Slate, Charlie Day
Rating:4/5
