Acwa Power, a leader in power generation and desalination, and Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking (Natixis CIB), a subsidiary of Groupe BPCE, have signed an agreement to collaborate on the advancement of Acwa Power's projects in the region.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, by Clive Turton, Chief Investment Officer of Acwa Power, and Anne-Christine Champion, Co-Head of Natixis CIB. It paves the way for the two parties to explore opportunities to develop new projects in the region, including in renewable and clean energy, with an objective for Natixis CIB to finance up to approximately $2 billion over two years for Acwa Power's future project pipeline.

The signing ceremony took place in Jeddah in the presence of Khalid Al Falih, the Saudi minister of Investment; Franck Riester, the French Minister of Foreign trade and Economic Attractiveness; as well as Mohammad Abunayyan, Chairman of Acwa Power; and Barbara Riccardi, Regional Head for Middle East and Ammar Bukhamsin Country Head of Saudi Arabia from Natixis CIB.

Paddy Padmanathan, President & CEO of Acwa Power, said: “Building on a hugely successful longstanding partnership, we are proud and privileged to document the vision to further expand this relationship through this MoU. This MoU signed today demonstrates our shared commitment to advancing the renewable energy and decarbonisation ambition in the markets we serve by expanding cost competitive financing solutions through innovative structures and accessing wider pools of liquidity.

“At Acwa Power, we remain committed to building strategic relationships that ensure we cater to the rising demand of power and water within the communities in which we operate without compromising the path towards achieving the objective of becoming net zero by 2050.”

Anne-Christine Champion, Co-Head of Natixis CIB, said: “We are delighted to have signed an MoU with Acwa Power, which cements the close relationship of trust and cooperation that we have forged over the past ten years. Natixis CIB’s area of expertise is highly complementary to those of Acwa Power, and we greatly look forward to continuing to accompany Acwa Power as it leads the way in the development of renewable energy, water desalination and green hydrogen projects throughout the region.”

Since 2005, Acwa Power and Natixis CIB's relationship has increasingly grown, and Natixis has underwritten a number of Acwa Power's high-profile projects such as Sakaka Solar PV IPP, DEWA IV CSP/PV Hybrid IPP, and DEWA V Solar PV IPP. – TradeArabia News Service