Abu Dhabi National Energy Company “TAQA” has revealed significant progress in its green hydrogen projects, as well as a jump in revenues.
Farid Al-Awlaki, Executive Director of the Power Generation Business Unit at the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company “TAQA” confirmed that green hydrogen projects are progressing very well, adding that green hydrogen, known as “future oil”, will play an important role in the region.
This came during an interview with the Emirates News Agency, WAM, on the sidelines of his participation in the World Utilities Conference 2022, which concluded yesterday.
Al-Awlaki said: We are now in the technical feasibility stage for the two green hydrogen projects that were announced in partnership with Emirates Steel and Abu Dhabi Ports.
The two partnerships include TAQA’s collaboration with Emirates Steel to develop a large-scale green hydrogen project to enable the first green steel production plant in the Middle East and North Africa region.
It also includes its partnership with Abu Dhabi Ports to develop a green ammonia manufacturing and export facility on an industrial scale in Abu Dhabi.
TAQA had announced that green hydrogen would form a valuable part of the company’s 2030 strategy for sustainable growth, which includes increasing its total power generation capacity from 18 to 30 gigawatts in the UAE and adding up to 15 gigawatts in global assets.
This capacity increase will focus on renewable energy – particularly solar photovoltaics – to make up more than 30% of the power generation portfolio by 2030, compared to 5% today.
The plan of the “TAQA” project and Abu Dhabi Ports to develop a facility to manufacture and export green ammonia includes running the project with hydrogen, which will be produced from energy generated from a solar power plant with a capacity of 2 gigawatts.
As for its project with Emirates Steel, it will depend on green hydrogen to enhance the level of clean steel production.
Hydrogen will enable green, low-carbon steels to be manufactured, contributing to energy savings and laying the foundations for sustainable and clean manufacturing processes.
Al-Awlaki stressed that the role of renewable energy sources in the global energy mix continues to increase.
He explained that the company’s portfolio of renewable energy sources includes two of the largest photovoltaic plants in the world in one location, including the “Noor Abu Dhabi” plant, adding that “TAQA” is currently building the Al Dhafra photovoltaic plant, which will be the second largest photovoltaic power plant in the world. the world.
Noor Abu Dhabi has recently completed three years of successful commercial operations, with a production capacity of 1.2 gigawatts and provides clean solar energy to more than 90,000 families in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, while contributing to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by one million metric tons annually.
TAQA is also continuing the construction work of the Al Dhafra solar photovoltaic plant, which, upon completion, will surpass the Noor Abu Dhabi plant to become the largest single-site solar power plant in the world.
This project set records in terms of the lowest competitive tariff for solar energy at a cost of 1.32 US cents per kilowatt-hour (4.85 UAE fils per kilowatt-hour) when the financing deal was completed.
About twice the size of the Noor Abu Dhabi plant, this plant will provide clean energy to more than 160,000 households using more than 4 million dual-sided solar panels.
Al-Awlaki said that the world is witnessing an increasing interest in renewable energy, pointing out that “TAQA” continues to enhance its investments in this sector.
Speaking about the World Utilities Conference 2022, Al-Awlaki explained that the conference represents a unique opportunity to meet with decision-makers and experts, exchange ideas and contribute to strengthening the sector.
12.4 billion dirhams, first-quarter revenues, with a growth of 20%
Abu Dhabi National Energy Company “TAQA” announced its consolidated financial results for the first three months of the year ending March 31, 2022.
The group achieved revenues of AED 12.4 billion, an increase of 20% compared to the same period in the previous year, mainly due to the increase in commodity prices in the oil and gas sector.
EBITDA reached AED 5.6 billion, an increase of 20%, which mainly reflects higher revenues and improvement in income from associates, partially offset by an increase in expenses.
Net income / share of “TAQA” reached AED 2 billion, an increase of 37% compared to the same period in the previous year, with a significant additional contribution from the oil and gas sector.
The availability rate in the electricity and water transmission networks reached 98.0%, which is a constant rate compared to the same period last year. While the rate of technical availability in the electricity generation works in “TAQA” projects around the world reached 84.0%.
Average oil and gas production rose to 126.9 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day, an increase of 5% as a result of increased production in the “TAQA” business in Europe.
After the approval of TAQA’s board of directors on these financial results, it announced the distribution of first interim cash dividends of 675 million UAE dirhams (0.60 fils per share), in accordance with the company’s dividend policy.
Jassim Hussain Thabet, Group CEO and Managing Director of Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), said: “TAQA’s strong financial results in the first quarter of 2022 demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our robust and resilient business model, and most importantly, they serve as a starting point. Solid and steady implementation of our strategic growth plans successfully.
He added: “At the beginning of the year, we took the initiative to issue the first green debt bond connected to our first solar photovoltaic power plant, which was very popular with international investors. This bond was listed on the London Stock Exchange with a secondary listing on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange. At the state level, the group announced a partnership with “Etisalat Digital” to enhance its digital capabilities and improve the customer experience in the field of electricity and water in various parts of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, as well as expressing our interest in acquiring the electricity generation assets of Emirates Global Aluminium, to expand our generation assets portfolio in the country UAE”.
He said: “The current market conditions contribute to enhancing our position and our ability to seize opportunities for organic and inorganic growth inside and outside the country, which makes TAQA an investment company that has a highly competitive ability and has a lot of flexibility and capabilities to implement its projects effectively and quickly.”