Abu Dhabi (Al Ittihad)
The Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company “Masdar”, one of the world’s leading companies in the field of renewable energy, announced today the signing of an agreement to develop a wind energy project with a total capacity of 1 gigawatt in the Republic of Kazakhstan, making the project the first investment of “Masdar” in the Central Asian country. The agreement was signed by His Excellency Bulat Akchulakov, Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan, Mohammed Jamil Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, and Nurlan Zakubov, CEO of the Investment and Development Fund of Kazakhstan, during a ceremony held at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi. According to the agreement, the three parties will work jointly to develop the project, as the first phase will focus on generating 500 megawatts of energy, with the possibility of adding batteries to store energy. Mohammed Jamil Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, said: “We look forward to strengthening our partnership with the Republic of Kazakhstan, and contributing to supporting the Kazakh government’s achievement of its goals in the field of clean energy. Masdar has developed significant projects in the Central Asian region, and we will build on our experience in the region to develop a world-class wind farm project that will support Kazakhstan’s energy transition and its ambitions to reach net-zero emissions.” For his part, Wonurlan Zakubov, CEO of the Investment and Development Fund of Kazakhstan, said: “The fund is a government entity that contributes to reducing investment risks for foreign investors through joint financing of projects, and it was established to facilitate the tasks of investors when implementing projects in Kazakhstan. We are pleased to partner with Masdar, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies, as a partner in the joint implementation of the 1 GW wind farm in Kazakhstan. We look forward to strengthening our cooperation and establishing a long-term strategic partnership with Masdar to develop renewable energy projects in Kazakhstan.” Kazakhstan seeks to achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2060 and also aims to increase its share of renewable energy in electricity generation from domestic sources to 10 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2050. Masdar recently announced its new structure. Which included launching the company’s business in the field of green hydrogen, thus becoming one of the largest global companies in the field of clean energy, with expectations that the total capacity of its projects will reach 100 gigawatts of renewable energy and produce one million tons annually of green hydrogen by 2030. Masdar will contribute As a leading global company in the field of clean energy in achieving the UAE’s strategy for climate neutrality 2050, and accelerating comprehensive transformation efforts in the global energy sector.