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Masdar powers US ops with battery project stake

By Andy Sambidge
Masdar EDF deal Masdar
The agreement was signed by Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, and Valerie Levkov, EDF senior vice-president for Africa, Middle East and Mediterranean
  • Clean energy firm teams with EDF Renewables North America
  • Big Beau includes solar plant and battery energy storage
  • US is strategic market for Masdar’s global expansion

UAE clean energy firm Masdar has expanded its presence in the US renewables market with the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in a combined solar and battery storage project from EDF Renewables North America.

The Big Beau in California comprises a 128mw photovoltaic solar plant and a 40mw/160 mwh battery energy storage system. 

The deal is part of an agreement between the two companies in 2020 to partner in a 1.6gw portfolio, which includes three wind projects in Nebraska and Texas and five solar projects in California.

In January UAE and US officials also announced that $20 billion will be allocated to fund 15gw of clean energy projects in the US before 2035, led by Masdar and a consortium of US private investors, under the Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy (Pace) between the two countries.

Dr Sultan Al Jaber, chairman of Masdar, said: “Big Beau and the other projects that we are operating with EDF Renewables are already making an active contribution to US clean energy targets, highlighting the strength of the UAE-US relationship that the recent Pace announcement seeks to build on.

“Partnerships between companies like Masdar and EDF Renewables are also vital in ensuring we hold back emissions.”

Outdoors, Aerial View, Electrical DeviceMasdar
The Big Beau in California includes solar plant and battery energy storage

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, said the company is committed to growing its activities in the US over the coming years, describing it as an “extremely important strategic market” as part of its global expansion of reaching at least 100gw by the end of this decade. 

Masdar recently announced a new shareholding structure and additional focus on green hydrogen to help spearhead the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 ambition and drive the global energy transition.

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