The Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) and French low-carbon electricity leader EDF have signed an agreement to set up a new joint venture energy services company (Esco) in order to expand into non-utility scale renewables and energy-efficiency investments in the UAE, GCC region and other emerging countries.

A subsidiary of the Mubadala Investment Company, Masdar said these would include building energy efficiency, solar technology below 50 megawatts and industrial waste heat recovery, among others.

The agreement is a reflection of Masdar’s global clean energy ambitions and further supports the UAE’s Energy Strategy 2050 objectives to increase renewable energy usage and energy efficiency across the UAE, the region and internationally," remarked Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, after inking the deal with Valerie Levkov, EDF senior vice-president (Africa, Middle East and the Mediterranean) on the sidelines of the ongoing World Energy Congress in Abu Dhabi.

The signing ceremony was also attended by Khaled Abdulla Al Qubaisi, CEO of Aerospace, Renewables and ICT at Mubadala, and EDF group senior executive vice-president (International Division) Marianne Laigneau.

On the new venture, Laigneau, said: "Having accomplished several common successes in renewables, EDF and Masdar are now extending their co-operation to energy-efficiency services."

"Along with Masdar, our ambition is to develop innovative solutions to optimise energy consumption and reduce the carbon footprint of our customers in the Middle East and in other countries where both companies already cooperate," she stated.

"With this agreement, EDF is taking another step towards achieving one of its CAP 2030 goals to triple its international business by 2030 compared to 2015," she added.

Just last month, the consortium of EDF Renewables and Masdar had announced that they had reached a financial close on the 400-MW Dumat Al Jandal wind project in Saudi Arabia, the country’s first utility-scale wind farm that will be the largest in the Middle East on completion.

In May, the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy announced that the consortium of EDF (through its subsidiary EDF Renewables), Masdar, and Green of Africa, Moroccan Independent Power Producer, was the successful bidder for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the Noor Midelt I multi-technologies solar power plant.

Both companies are also partners in developing the third phase of the 800-megawatt Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai.-TradeArabia News Service