Abu Dhabi – Mubasher Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) and Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) announced the financial closing of the AED 3.60 billion Al Dhafra Power Plant.
The 1 GW plant will provide power to data center projects and advance the UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031, according to a press release.
The project is mainly funded by nearly 85% through debt financing from both local and international banks, including Standard Chartered Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), Agricultural Bank of China, HSBC, ICBC, and KFW.
Boubyan Bank, the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), RAKBANK, Woori Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), Ajman Bank, Doha Bank, and the First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) also participated in the transaction.
Construction of the Al Dhafra Gas Turbine project has already begun and is being developed by TAQA at an accelerated and unprecedented pace.
TAQA owns 100% of both the project company and the operation and maintenance (O&M) company. It will build, own and operate this 1 GW plant.
The financial close of this critical infrastructure project follows the announcement of TAQA signing a 24-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with EWEC in April.
Frank Possmeier, Chief Investment Officer of TAQA’s Generation business, said the financial close supports their “commitment to supporting the rapid growth in energy needs driven by AI data centers. The plant also plays a crucial role in providing flexible baseload power that enables greater integration of renewable energy into the system.”
Mohamed Al Marzooqi, Chief Asset Development & Management Officer of EWEC, said: “The flexible baseload power that will be delivered by this plant complements our growing pipeline of utility-scale renewables and battery storage, providing the essential transitional capacity needed to integrate significantly higher levels of clean energy into the grid.”
He added: “EWEC remains committed to pioneering a modernized, decarbonised energy system that meets the intensive 24/7 requirements of the digital economy while accelerating our transition toward a sustainable, carbonneutral future”
Meanwhile, TAQA Transmission, part of TAQA Group, will establish advanced power grid infrastructure to integrate the additional generation capacity to new sources of energy demand, enabling access to reliable power with a low carbon footprint.
