Masdar/EDF joint venture to build solar PV plant for huge data centre
Emerge expands its distributed solar portfolio to Abu Dhabi’s flagship sustainable urban development Masdar City; 7 MWp to be operational next year as large data centers continue regional expansion
Emerge, a joint venture of Masdar and the French electric utility company EDF, and Khazna Data Centers, have signed an agreement to develop a ground-mounted solar PV plant to power Khazna’s new data center in Masdar City. The new Masdar City facility is scheduled to be operational in 2023.
The plant, which has obtained Abu Dhabi’s Department of Energy Solar Photovoltaic (PV) self-regulating generation license, will have an installed capacity of 7-megawatt peak (MWp) and will provide electricity to the Khazna Abu Dhabi 6 (AUH 6) facility which is currently under construction in Masdar City.
Emerge will provide a full turnkey solution for the project, including finance, design, procurement, construction, operations, and maintenance, for 25 years.
“By providing and managing a reliable source of clean energy, Emerge will enable Khazna to focus on providing high-quality data center services to its clients within Masdar City and beyond,” said Michel Abi Saab, General Manager, Emerge.
“To successfully meet the growing reliance on data and the rise of IoT, data centers have had to rapidly expand their infrastructure,” said Hassan Alnaqbi, Chief Executive Officer of Khazna.
“As a result, data centers have inevitably become some of the world’s main consumers of energy.”
Khazna Data Centers, which manages the largest network of hyperscale data centers in the Middle East and North Africa region, plans to expand its network globally.
Emerge is a joint venture between Masdar and EDF Group established to collaborate on opportunities in distributed solar generation, energy efficiency and street lighting in the UAE and KSA. The solar PV plant will take the company’s Abu Dhabi portfolio, in operation and in delivery, to over 25 MWp.
Energy & Utilities reported in July that Emerge had signed an agreement to deploy rooftop solar systems at the SeaWorld Abu Dhabi theme park currently under construction on Yas Island.
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