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• The turbine is the first of 50 to be installed at 476MW Baltic Eagle wind farm

• A joint venture between Iberdrola and Masdar, Baltic Eagle will supply around 475,000 households with renewable energy by the end of 2024

• Wind turbines are supplied by Vestas and installed with the jack-up vessel Blue Tern owned by Fred. Olsen Windcarrier

Berlin/UAE, 9 May 2024 – The first of a total of fifty wind turbines has been successfully installed at the 476MW Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm, a joint venture between Iberdrola, a world leading clean energy company, and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company – Masdar, the UAE’s clean energy powerhouse.

Working in partnership with Vestas , the remaining wind turbines will now be transported to the offshore construction site in the coming months and then installed using the jack-up vessel Blue Tern owned by Fred. Olsen Windcarrier.

Baltic Eagle is on track to become operational by the end of 2024, when it will supply renewable energy to around 475,000 households and contribute to Germany’s clean energy transition.

Milestone reached thanks to strong partnerships

"With the installation of its first wind turbine, Baltic Eagle is taking shape off the German Baltic coast. This marks the start of the final phase in the construction of the offshore wind farm, which is expected to become fully operational later this year." commented Felipe Montero, CEO of Iberdrola Deutschland. "My special thanks go to the Baltic Eagle team for their tireless efforts and outstanding performance. Thanks to the support of Vestas and our partner Masdar, we are confident that we will successfully complete what so far has been an outstanding construction campaign. With the commissioning of Baltic Eagle, the second offshore wind farm in our Baltic Hub, Iberdrola Deutschland continues its growth path, making a significant contribution to Germany’s Energy Transition."

Husain Al Meer, Director, Global Offshore Wind at Masdar added: “We are delighted that, together with Iberdrola and Vestas, we have taken this significant step toward making the landmark Baltic Eagle wind farm a reality. Masdar has a long-standing commitment to advancing offshore wind projects across the globe. Baltic Eagle will provide clean, renewable power to hundreds of thousands of homes, reducing carbon emissions and supporting Germany with its energy transition. We look forward to seeing the project come to life over the coming months, delivering tangible benefits to the local community and setting a precedent for sustainable energy solutions.”

“It’s a special moment to see the first wind turbine at Baltic Eagle installed, reflecting how everyone involved supports Germany’s clean and secure energy and offshore wind targets in the Baltic Sea,” said Nils de Baar, President of Vestas Northern & Central Europe. “Vestas is proud to be part of this project and our thanks go to our partner Iberdrola for their trust in our technology and the strong and productive collaboration since the beginning of this project.”

Proven technology and tried-and-tested installation methods

The Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm will generate its green electricity from a total of 50 Vestas V174-9.5MW wind turbines, each with an output of 9.525 megawatts (MW). The wind turbines have a rotor diameter of 174 meters and a hub height of 107 meters.

The optimized rotor blades are each 85 meters long and have been designed to be aerodynamically efficient and to minimize loads. The finished turbines reach a total height of 194 meters.

Fred. Olsen Windcarrier's jack-up vessel Blue Tern is particularly suitable for the challenging terrain in the Baltic Sea thanks to its long legs. With its 800-ton main crane and a variable deck load capacity of 8,750 tons, it transports the towers, nacelles and rotor blades to the offshore construction site and erects them on the transition pieces. Fred. Olsen Windcarrier already gained experience in the Baltic Sea during the construction of the Iberdrola offshore wind farm Wikinger.

Iberdrola's Baltic Hub

The Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm is an important part of Iberdrola's ‘Baltic Hub’ in the German Baltic Sea. It is located north-east of the island of Rügen off the coast of Pomerania and is planned and operated from the port of Mukran in Sassnitz.

Scheduled to be operational by the end of 2024, the 476MW offshore wind farm will supply around 475,000 households with renewable energy while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 800,000 tons per year.

Baltic Eagle is the second of three major projects in Germany, along with the Wikinger (350 MW, in operation) and Windanker (315 MW, in planning) wind parks. Collectively, these offshore wind parks form Iberdrola's so-called Baltic Hub, which will have a total capacity of more than 1.1 GW in 2026 and trigger an investment sum of about 3.7 billion euros.

The Baltic Eagle offshore wind park is an important component in the integrated growth strategy that Iberdrola is pursuing in its German core market. In the area of sustainable energy solutions, the company aims to cooperate with key players in the German economy to support them in achieving their climate targets with market-based solutions.

Iberdrola’s partnership with Masdar

Masdar and Iberdrola signed a strategic agreement in July 2023 to co-invest in Baltic Eagle. At COP28, the two companies announced a further EUR15 billion strategic partnership agreement to evaluate the joint development of offshore wind and green hydrogen projects in key markets including Germany, the UK and the US.

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• Masdar enters Bahrain market in strategic move with national energy leader, Bapco Energies

• Agreement will focus on exploring the joint development of near-shore and offshore wind projects

• Agreement supports the Kingdom of Bahrain’s National Energy Strategy target to cut emissions by 30 percent by 2035

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar, the UAE’s clean energy powerhouse, has signed an agreement with Bapco Energies, the integrated energy company leading the energy transition in the Kingdom of Bahrain, to jointly explore the development and investment in wind projects in the Kingdom with a capacity of up to 2 gigawatts (GW).

Marking a strategic entry into the Bahrain market for the UAE’s clean energy champion, the agreement for near-shore and offshore wind farms is Masdar’s first in the Kingdom and will be the first project of its kind in the region and the Middle East. At up to 2GW, this clean energy collaboration will support the Kingdom of Bahrain to accelerate the decarbonization of critical industrial sectors and open avenues to develop new market sectors. The Kingdom of Bahrain aims to reduce emissions by 30 percent by 2035 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2060, as outlined in its National Energy Strategy.

Masdar Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, said:

Bapco Energies Group Chief Executive Officer, Mark Thomas said:

Masdar has developed a number of landmark wind projects across the world, including the 400MW Dumat Al Jandal wind farm, the largest in the Middle East and the first in Saudi Arabia, the 630MW London Array offshore wind project in the United Kingdom which powers half a million British homes and the 103.5MW UAE Wind Program, which utilizes innovative technology to capture low wind speeds at utility scale.

Masdar is aiming for a renewable energy portfolio capacity of 100GW by 2030, as well as supporting the target set out in The UAE Consensus to triple global renewables capacity by the end of this decade, and aims to be a leading producer of green hydrogen by the same year.

Masdar together with its partners Equinor and China Resources Power has received consent from the UK Government to extend the 402MW Dudgeon offshore wind project.

On April 17 2024, the UK Secretary of State for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, granted the development consent for Dudgeon Extension.

Masdar owns a 35% stake in Dudgeon and Dudgeon Extension. The Dudgeon Extension project has been selected as a Pathfinder project for coordinated offshore transmission development under the UK’s Governments Offshore Transmission Network Review and as such, the consent application for the Extension project includes an option to utilize an integrated transmission system.

The Dudgeon Extension project represents up to 30 offshore wind turbines and foundations. The consent enables Dudgeon Extension to now progress through the next stage of development. Upon on completion, the Extension project will provide crucial renewable energy power to approximately 440,000 UK homes, aiding the UK ‘s decarbonization goals.

Masdar, along with its partners Equinor and China Resources Power, will now continue the development of the extension towards Final Investment Decision.

• Ministers, policymakers and industry leaders from around the world discuss how to advance development of global green hydrogen economy

• Former UK prime minister Rt Hon Boris Johnson praises UAE as a great center for technological innovation

• Abu Dhabi low carbon hydrogen policy will help attract innovators and key players

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar, the UAE’s clean energy powerhouse, has hailed the conclusion of a highly successful Green Hydrogen Summit focused on accelerating the development of the global green hydrogen economy and supporting the energy transition.

Under the theme, Building the Hydrogen Economy: From Dialogue to Reality, the summit assembled an impressive line-up of stakeholders including ministerial speakers from the UAE, Azerbaijan, Japan and the Netherlands, policymakers, industry leaders, forward-thinking investors and pioneering entrepreneurs.

Keynote speaker, former UK prime minister the Rt Hon Boris Johnson, praised the UAE as one of the world’s great centers of technological innovation and highlighted the longstanding ties between the United Kingdom and the UAE on renewable energy projects in the past and into the future, including green hydrogen.

Johnson also commended HE Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Chairman of Masdar and President of COP28, for his leadership in delivering the UAE Consensus at COP28.

In his address, Dr Bertrand Piccard, Chairman of Climate Impulse, who is planning the first hydrogen-powered flight to circumnavigate the planet, stressed the importance of the Green Hydrogen Summit and the work of Masdar in advancing the development and progress of green hydrogen.

The summit witnessed global hydrogen players engaging in insightful discussions on many critical topics, ranging from the role of hydrogen in the UAE, Europe, the US and Asia, its potential for industries such as steel and transportation and how to make projects more bankable.

H.E. Parviz Shahbazov, Minister of Energy for Azerbaijan, H.E. Yoshida Nobuhiro, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry for Japan and Frederik Wisselink, Energy Envoy, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, The Netherlands, outlined national strategies and policies to accelerate green hydrogen economies.

Abu Dhabi’s low-carbon hydrogen policy and its potential to attract innovators, technology providers and key players in the green hydrogen sector while enabling Masdar to start developing cost effective, technology-driven, pioneering green hydrogen projects to the world were also highlighted.

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, commented:

The summit ended with a demonstration of Net Zero Navigator, the AI-driven platform which enables cross-referencing of current financial mechanisms, best policy environments and partnership models to allow the development and scaling of technologies, innovations and strategies to achieve net zero faster.

Masdar’s green hydrogen business aims to be a leading global producer by 2030, supporting Abu Dhabi’s Low-Carbon Hydrogen Policy announced during COP28, following a trilateral strategic collaboration between Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, ADIO and Masdar to position the UAE as a global hydrogen leader.

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• Emerge, a joint venture between Masdar and EDF Group, signs agreement to develop rooftop solar plant for Dubai Maritime City

• 980kWp plant will offset 780 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year

• Emerge will operate and maintain all turnkey solutions across the project for 25 years

• Project is part of wider clean energy drive by DP World to contribute to the UAE Energy Strategy 2050 initiative

Emerge, a joint venture between Masdar and EDF Group, has signed an agreement to install a 980kWp rooftop solar plant for Dubai Maritime City that will offset 780 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year.

The project is part of a wider energy transition led by DP World, the parent company of Dubai Maritime City, to facilitate the widespread adoption of renewable energy and battery energy storage systems (BESS) within DP World’s global supply chain.

Situated on the roof of the staff accommodation building and consisting of more than 1,700 solar modules, the plant will be delivered by Emerge as a turnkey solution, including finance, design, procurement, construction, operations, and maintenance of the solar modules for 25 years.

Michel Abi Saab, Emerge General Manager, said:

Ahmed Al Hammadi, Chief Operating Officer of Dubai Maritime City, DP World, said:

Emerge, a joint venture between Masdar and EDF Group, was formed in 2021 to develop distributed solar, energy storage, and hybrid solutions for commercial and industrial applications. As an energy services company, Emerge offers clients full turnkey solutions through solar power agreements at no up-front cost to the client. The project contributes to the UAE Energy Strategy 2050 initiative, which aims to see renewable energy make up 44 per cent of the country’s clean energy mix by 2050. Rooftop solar PV could provide approximately 6 per cent of the UAE’s total power generation by 2030, according to a projection by the International Renewable Energy Agency in its REmap 2030 report on renewable energy prospects for the UAE.

About Emerge

Emerge is a joint venture between Masdar and EDF Group established to develop solar generation, energy storage and hybrid solutions in the Middle East. We support our commercial and industrial (C&I) partners in achieving their sustainability goals. A home-grown company, Emerge was founded in 2021 and has since established a robust performance record. Emerge provides clients with comprehensive renewable energy solutions via solar power agreements. Clients do not have to make any initial financial commitments. This empowers our customers to concentrate on their core operations while reducing operational and energy expenditures.

• Collaboration will advance sustainable production of aluminium, one of UAE’s biggest exports

• Masdar and EGA will explore international opportunities to power new aluminium production facilities with renewable energy

• Aluminium plays a major role in the decarbonisation of many industries

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar, one of the world’s largest clean energy companies, and Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the largest ‘premium aluminium’ producer in the world, agreed an alliance to work together on aluminium decarbonisation and low-carbon aluminium growth opportunities.

The signing was witnessed by His Excellency Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and Chairman of Masdar. Masdar and EGA will explore the joint development of renewable energy projects, with potential battery storage and green hydrogen production and storage, to support the decarbonisation of EGA’s existing operations in the UAE, and any future operations in the country.

The two companies will also work together internationally to find opportunities through which Masdar will support EGA to power new aluminium production facilities with renewable energy sources.

Masdar is a global leader in renewable energy and the UAE’s flagship clean energy company. It develops and operates utility-scale renewable energy projects around the world.

Aluminium production is energy-intensive, and generating the electricity required using fossil fuels accounts for about 60 per cent of the global aluminium industry’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Mohamed Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, said:

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said:

EGA produces one-in-every 25 tonnes of aluminium made worldwide. The company’s metal is the biggest made-in-the-UAE export after oil and gas and is shipped to more than 50 countries.

In 2021, EGA became the first company in the world to make aluminium commercially using solar power, producing almost 39 thousand tonnes that year. In 2023, EGA produced some 66 thousand tonnes of CelestiAL solar aluminium.

Established in 2006, Masdar is the UAE’s clean energy powerhouse. It is active in more than 40 countries and has invested in a portfolio of renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of more than 20 GW. Masdar is committed to achieving at least 100 GW of total renewable energy capacity by 2030 and an annual green hydrogen production capacity of up to 1 million tonnes by the same year.

• Female entrepreneurs, academics, thought leaders and business executives to convene for WiSER panel sessions on 18 April

• Panels to focus on empowering female entrepreneurs and the importance of mentorship in promoting gender equality in climate action

• Program reinforces WiSER’s commitment to core pillars of education, engagement, and empowerment

Women in Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy (WiSER) - Masdar’s global initiative that champions women as drivers of sustainable change and innovation – will be placing female entrepreneurs and mentors center stage at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES).

In an afternoon of dedicated programming at the Masdar Pavilion on April 18, three panels will explore innovative solutions and opportunities in climate finance for female entrepreneurs, highlight the transformative role of female mentorship in fostering leadership and promoting diversity and inclusion, and examine the nexus between SDG5 and environmental action to ensure women's perspectives from the Global South are integrated into policy and practice.

Bringing together female entrepreneurs, thought leaders, business executives and academics, WiSER’s program at WFES aims to enlighten, challenge and inform audiences as part of WiSER’s commitment to addressing the under-representation of women in the renewable energy sector and highlighting the barriers they face in accessing climate finance and education.

Dr Lamya Fawwaz, Executive Director for Brand & Strategic Initiatives, Masdar, and Program Director of WiSER, said:

WiSER, a Masdar initiative, was established as a result of the UAE leadership’s longstanding commitment to the role of women; a commitment traced back to the vision of the late founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Aligned with the UAE’s net-zero goals, WiSER is rooted in a recognition that more needs to be done to support women in the global mission to tackle climate change. 

Hosted by Masdar, WFES is the leading business event for future energy, clean technology and sustainability and takes place from April 16-18 at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC).

The Masdar Pavilion will be situated in Hall 5 at ADNEC. Full details of WiSER’s program at WFES can be found here.

• Masdar’s 2024 speaker lineup to include Former UK PM as keynote speaker, global adventurer Dr. Bertrand Piccard, alongside energy ministers and industry leaders

• As the host of World Future Energy Summit (WFES), Masdar presents second Green Hydrogen Summit on April 16 bringing key leaders together to advance the low-carbon economy

• High-level UAE energy stakeholders to highlight the nation’s green hydrogen roadmap

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar has announced a stellar international lineup for its Green Hydrogen Summit including former UK Prime Minister Rt Hon Boris Johnson, ministerial speakers from the UAE, Azerbaijan, Japan and the Netherlands, industry leaders and global adventurer Dr. Bertrand Piccard.

Masdar’s second Green Hydrogen Summit, taking place on April 16 at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi, will be held under the theme “Building the Hydrogen Economy: From Dialogue to Reality.” It will convene hydrogen players worldwide for in-depth discussions to accelerate the green hydrogen economy in support of the energy transition.

Keynote speaker Boris Johnson brings significant international experience of advancing clean energy initiatives. During his leadership as UK Prime Minister, Johnson laid out plans to develop a thriving low-carbon hydrogen sector as a key part of the country’s transition to net zero. Dr. Bertrand Piccard, Chairman of Climate Impulse, will also be speaking at the Summit. During his session he will outline progress on his aim for the first hydrogen-powered flight to circumnavigate the planet. Dr. Piccard’s record-breaking adventures include the first non-stop balloon flight around the world, as well as Solar Impulse, the first flight around the world in a solar-powered aircraft.

Hosted by the UAE’s clean energy champion Masdar, the Green Hydrogen Summit will feature a high-level ministerial panel focusing on national strategies and policies to accelerate green hydrogen economies. Ministers taking part in the panel include: H.E. Parviz Shahbazov, Minister of Energy, Azerbaijan; H.E. Yoshida Nobuhiro, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan; and Frederik Wisselink, Energy Special Envoy, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, Netherlands.

Abu Dhabi’s Low Carbon Hydrogen Policy, and its impact on crucial industries, will be the subject of another panel. Speakers in this session will include H.E. Ahmed Mohammed Al Rumaithi, Undersecretary, Abu Dhabi Department of Energy and Mohammad Abdelqader El-Ramahi, Chief Green Hydrogen Officer, Masdar, alongside other high-level Abu Dhabi stakeholders.

The Green Hydrogen Summit will bring together the public and private sector, from policymakers and industry leaders to forward-thinking investors and pioneering entrepreneurs. A conversation on ‘Financing the Transition’ will focus on factors needed to make green hydrogen projects bankable, and will feature Lina Osman, Managing Director & Head - Sustainable Finance, Standard Chartered Bank and Dr. Michael Whiteley, Global Head Clean Hydrogen, HSBC, amongst other global finance leaders.

There will also be a pan-regional focus looking at the development of green hydrogen economies in Asia, the US and Europe. Speakers include Daria Nochevnik, Director for Policy and Partnerships, Hydrogen Council; Joaquin Rodriguez Jadraque, Director of Hydrogen and Clean Energies, Cepsa; and Alicia Eastman, Host of Everything About Hydrogen and Board Member, InterContinental Energy.

Other panels will spotlight hard-to-abate industries including aviation, shipping and heavy industry, with a key conversation on decarbonizing the steel sector featuring industry leaders such as Micheal Rion, Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates Steel Arkan.

The full program for the Green Hydrogen Summit can be downloaded here.

The Summit will take place April 16, 2024, during the World Future Energy Summit, in Hall A at ADNEC in Abu Dhabi. It will also be available to watch on livestream here.

An accompanying video related to the announcement is also available here.