Energy AD Ports and TotalEnergies in deal to develop solar projects By Pramod Kumar November 22, 2022 Reuters/Faisal Al Nasser The agreement seeks to realise the full potential of solarisation across Kezad Group’s built assets, which cover over 400,000 sq m Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi (Kezad Group), a subsidiary of AD Ports Group, has signed an agreement with TotalEnergies Renewables Distributed Generation Middle East & Africa, an affiliate of French firm TotalEnergies, to explore solar power opportunities at assets across Kezad’s industrial ecosystem, the UAE state-owned WAM news agency reported. TotalEnergies’ Renewables Distributed Generations develops, finances, builds and operates solar installations for industrial and commercial customers (I&C). This year, TotalEnergies’ reached 500 megawatts (MW) of onsite business-to-business solar distributed generation projects in operation globally. More than 300 sites of its I&C customers have been equipped with solar panels worldwide. TotalEnergies, operating in the UAE for over 80 years, is now developing solar projects for I&C customers. In the UAE, the company has around 100 MW under development of business-to-business solar power. Covering a total land area of 550 square kilometres, including 100 square kilometres designated as free zones, Kezad Group’s industrial ecosystem will benefit from TotalEnergies’ distributed solar solutions, which would enable the group to produce clean energy across its sites. Under the agreement, each partner will contribute expertise and technologies to conduct a series of feasibility studies for distributed solar generation at Kezad, covering economic, commercial, regulatory, and technical aspects. The agreement comes as Abu Dhabi accelerates its development of solar energy solutions to support the wider UAE net-zero emissions by 2050 agenda. The emirate plans to install 5.6 gigawatts (GW) of solar PV capacity by 2026 and is currently developing the world’s largest solar plant with a capacity of 2GW in the Al Dhafra region.
