In a US$500 million Heads of Terms agreement with EIG, ACWA Power has agreed to cooperate in power generation, water desalination, green hydrogen, and green ammonia projects, with a specific focus on investing in projects in Gulf countries and Uzbekistan.
ACWA Power has also signed the funding agreements at an aggregate project financing amount of US$246 million with the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) and the OPEC Fund for International Development (The OPEC Fund) for the development of a 240MW wind power project in Azerbaijan. Both agreements are subject to the completion of the conditions precedent.
The project is the first foreign investment-based independent wind power project in the Republic of Azerbaijan, structured as a public-private partnership (PPP) at a total investment cost of US$347 million. The national electrical power company Azerenerji is the sole offtaker for the project, which, once completed, is expected to power nearly 300,000 households, save 220 million cubic metres of natural gas and reduce carbon emissions by more than 400,000 tonnes annually.
Commenting on the development, Marco Arcelli, Chief Executive Officer of ACWA Power, said, “ACWA Power is enthusiastic about playing a pivotal role in helping Azerbaijan achieve its goal of meeting 30% of its energy needs through renewable sources by 2030. We are deeply grateful to our financing partners, the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development and the OPEC Fund for International Development, for their unwavering support in making this vision a reality.”
