① UAE clean energy developer Masdar and Spanish electricity giant Iberdrola announced a joint investment of US$16.2 billion to develop offshore wind energy and green hydrogen; ② Masdar will buy up to 49% of the 1.4 gigawatt (GW) East Anglia Phase 3 offshore wind power project built by Iberdrola.
Financial News Agency, December 6 (Intern Editor Gao Jianing) On Tuesday, UAE clean energy developer Masdar (Masdar) and Spanish electricity giant Iberdrola (Iberdrola) announced that they will cooperate to invest 15 billion euros (16.2 billion US dollars) to develop offshore wind energy and green hydrogen in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
A key step in the cooperation between the two is that Masdar will buy up to 49% of Iberdrola's 1.4 gigawatt (GW) East Anglia Phase 3 offshore wind power project built by Iberdrola on the east coast of England.
The East Anglia Phase 3 wind farm is the seventh offshore wind farm developed and operated by Iberdrola and is expected to be put into operation in 2026. The wind farm covers an area of about 305 square kilometers and is expected to supply electricity to 1.3 million households after it is put into operation. At the same time, the project also includes 4 submarine export cables to transport electricity from offshore platforms to shore.
Masdar, also known as Abu Dhabi Future Energy, is a UAE state-owned renewable energy company. It was founded in 2006 and is a subsidiary of a tripartite joint venture between UAE sovereign fund Mubadala Investments, Abu Dhabi's state-owned oil company ADNOC, and Abu Dhabi's state-owned energy company TAQA. According to its official website, the value of projects the company has invested or promised to invest in has exceeded 30 billion US dollars worldwide, focusing on investments in renewable energy and hydrogen energy.
Earlier, during the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), 118 countries pledged to triple global renewable energy production by 2030, increase clean energy while reducing fossil fuel consumption to curb climate warming.
The “incense” of green energy in the UK
Currently, the UK is the world's second-largest offshore wind market after China.
Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi said that the UK and Europe are rich in wind energy resources and are Masdar's main markets.
Earlier, Masdar and Iberdrola each announced huge investment plans in the UK — Masdar plans to invest 13 billion euros in the UK's renewable energy industry; Iberdrola promised to invest nearly 14 billion euros in power grids and renewable energy projects in the UK by 2028, and plans to bid for the UK Northwest Power Company (ENWL).
Last week, Masdar and Germany's largest power generation company Rheinland Group (RWE) also announced that they will jointly develop a 3 gigawatt offshore wind power project in the UK. Masdar owns 49% of the project, which is part of its €13 billion investment plan.
According to Iberdrola's official website, the company will invest around 30 billion euros worldwide in the next few years, with the goal of generating 12,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.