Energy Masdar to build solar plants for UAE defence ministry By Pramod Kumar March 8, 2024, 5:04 AM Masdar Brigadier general Saeed Al Ketbi of the UAE defence ministry and Abdulaziz Alobaidli, chief operating officer of Masdar and chairman of Emerge sign the agreement Abu Dhabi’s clean energy giant Masdar and the UAE defence ministry have agreed to develop multi-solar plants across Abu Dhabi. Emerge, a joint venture between Masdar and France’s EDF Group, will provide a full turnkey solution for the projects for 25 years, including finance, design, procurement, construction, operations, and maintenance. No other project details were given. Abu Dhabi moves ahead on new renewable project Neom to produce first green hydrogen this year, CEO says Masdar starts work on two UK battery storage projects In December 2023, the ministry launched the UAE armed forces’ climate change strategy on the sidelines of the Cop28, aiming to reduce carbon emissions and encourage transition to sustainability. Last month, logistics group DP World signed a three-year agreement with Masdar to decarbonise ports in the Middle East and Africa. Their initial focus will be on ports in Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Egypt. Masdar, owned by state oil giant Adnoc, sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa), is working on clean energy projects in about 40 countries. The company is targeting a renewable energy portfolio capacity of at least 100 gigawatts by 2030 and an annual green hydrogen production capacity of up to 1 million tonnes by the same year.