JEDDAH – ACWA Power International, a Saudi energy developer, plans to add solar assets at home and electricity plants abroad to triple production capacity. ACWA is targeting 38,000 megawatts by 2017, equal to almost half Saudi Arabia's planned total capacity that year. The Riyadh-based company, with current capacity of 13,000 megawatts, is seeking to get 10 percent of its output from clean-energy sources in the Middle East and Africa, Chief Executive Officer Paddy Padmanathan said. “We will build capacity in all fuels, including renewable power, in all our target markets,” the CEO said. ACWA is focusing on countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and southern Africa, he said, adding that its “significant” renewables market will be Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom is expanding efforts to diversify its sources of energy as economic and population growth threaten to erode its status as the world's biggest oil exporter. By investing in renewables, the country can cut domestic use of fossil fuels and free up volumes for export. Saudi Arabia's 3 megawatts of solar capacity put it behind Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and the United Arab Emirates, according to BNEF. The government is targeting 41,000 megawatts of solar capacity within two decades, saving as much as 523,000 barrels of oil a day, according to King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, the agency developing the plans. To reach its 38,000-megawatt target, Padmanathan said ACWA is open to building plants as well as making acquisitions, with its renewables expansion focusing mainly on new sites. The company's projects are funded by a mix of equity capital and project-finance loans. – Agencies
