Acwa Power got the nod from the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) to begin commercial operations at the final unit of its 2.4 GW Hassyan independent power plant, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul on Sunday.
All now operational: The last 600 MW power unit joins three previous 600 MW units that already in service; the new income will start hitting Acwa’s income statement in 4Q.
About the plant: TheHassyan power plant in Dubai is set to be one of the largest in the GCC, according to Acwa’s website. The project was originally supposed to run on coal, but was switched to natural gas to align with Dubai’s 2050 clean energy strategy. Acwa owns 26.95% of this project, while DEWA owns 51%, with the remaining shares divided between Chinese companies Harben Electric Int. (HEI) and Silk Road Fund.
SOUND SMART- An IPP is a private entity that owns and operates facilities to generate electricity for sale to utilities and end users. An IPP is usually regulated by the state (as Hassyan is in the UAE), but is not owned or part of state-owned infrastructure and so can typically sell its output independently.
It’s been a busy run for Acwa: Acwa Power signed in October agreements worth USD 746 mn on energy-related projects during the annual Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh. That included a USD 500 mn agreement with US-based investment firm EIG to explore power generation, water desalination, green hydrogen and other projects in Gulf countries and Uzbekistan. It also landed funding from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the OPEC Fund for International Development to finance a 240 MW wind power project in Azerbaijan.