A consortium, led by China Three Gorges South Asia Investment Ltd (CSAIL), has acquired the Dubai-headquartered and Mubadala-backed Alcazar Energy Partners (AEP), an independent renewable energy company with a portfolio of wind and solar projects in Jordan and Egypt.
The transaction will allow the China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) subsidiary to extend its business into the Middle East and North African (MENA) markets.
Alcazar’s wind and solar portfolio totals 411MW of generation capacity. The company owns two wind projects in Jordan, the 45MW Shobak and the 86MW Al Rajef projects.
In a statement, Daniel Calderon, co-founder and chief executive of Alcazar Energy, said: “We are proud of what we have achieved with the support of our investors, lenders and local governments over the past six years.
“I am certain that CSAIL will continue to serve our customers in Jordan and Egypt according to the highest industry standards and accelerate the company’s growth journey in the region.”
Speaking to The National, Calderon added: “They provided details on how they wanted to continue to work with our various employees in Jordan and Egypt and how they want to continue to grow the portfolio as they have done in multiple other regions and we felt, partially because of that, they would be a terrific shareholder for the region.
“They are themselves one of the largest investors in renewable energy in the world. So it is natural that, right now they own one of the largest portfolios of renewable energy in the Middle East.”
A statement on the company’s website added: “Our established regional footprint, leading technology and operational excellence will provide a solid foundation for CSAIL’s future expansion across the MENA renewable energy market, which is poised for strong growth.”
Countries across the Mena region are investing heavily in renewable energy to diversify their energy mix, reduce costs and their reliance on hydrocarbons, and also meet their climate commitments.
While not disclosing the financial details, Alcazar estimated that 157 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity will be added to the sector and $175 billion will be invested in the next ten years.
Standard Chartered acted as exclusive financial adviser to Alcazar Energy Partners. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and Bracewell provided legal counsel.
Meanwhile, CTG’s European arm China Three Gorges Europe (CTGE) has also closed a deal to acquire an operational portfolio of 11 wind farms and a solar PV plant in the Castilla y León region of Spain. The projects have a combined capacity of 450MW.
