France’s EDF plans over 5GW of renewable energy in Middle East and North Africa

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Updated 25 January 2022
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France’s EDF plans over 5GW of renewable energy in Middle East and North Africa

DUBAI: French power giant EDF plans to increase its renewable energy developments in Saudi Arabia and the UAE by at least 5 gigawatts of capacity.

“The Middle East is a strategic area for EDF Renewables, and ultimately for EDF Group. We have currently secured 4 GW of projects in the Middle East and Africa, and the region has a pipeline of five additional GW to come,” Olivier Bordes, EDF Renewables Middle East’s CEO and Managing Director, said.

EDF’s portfolio consists of 14 GW of renewable operational (wind and solar capacities) assets worldwide, and the Middle East is one of the large contributors to the business in the upcoming years.

Projects already under construction include the Dhafra PV2 solar plant in Abu Dhabi, which has a power capacity of 2 GW, and is the largest single site PV (photovoltaic) project in the world, contributing to the UAE’s shift to sustainable renewable energy.

Another development is EDF’s first PV project in the Kingdom - a 300 MW photovoltaic plant in Jeddah.

“Strong partnership is a key factor for success. We have partners to develop our low-carbon solutions in the region, particularly in the UAE and in KSA,” said Bordes.

He added, “the Middle East program has ambitious targets. One of the main challenges is to continue to accelerate development to reach the energy transmission targets.”

EDF recently won a stake at the $3.6 billion project to develop and operate a transmission system alongside ADNOC and TAQA.

A first-of-its-kind sub-sea transmission network to decarbonize the offshore production of ADNOC, supporting the UAE’s ‘Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative.’

EDF Group is covering all the value chain, energy generation, transmission and distribution, and energy services, such as district cooling and energy efficiency. “We believe that the best energy is the one that is not consumed” stated Laurent Clement, CEO and Managing Director of EDF Middle East.

He added, “The energy mix in the GCC region is evolving quickly to low-carbon generation, with the massive integration of renewable energy. As an example - the objective of 60 GW in KSA in 2030, or the starting of Barakah nuclear power plant in the UAE in addition to their massive renewable objectives in 2030,” said Mr. Clement.


The Real Estate Registry signs 10 agreements at forum in Riyhad

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The Real Estate Registry signs 10 agreements at forum in Riyhad

RIYADH: The Real Estate Registry concluded its participation in the Real Estate Future 2026, as a partner of the forum, with a distinguished presence that included the launch of its business portal, the signing of 10 agreements and memoranda of understanding with entities from the public and private sectors, the organization of specialized workshops, and the awarding of the Gold Award at the Real Estate Excellence Awards.

During his participation in the forum, the CEO of the firm, Mohammed Al-Sulaiman, reviewed the latest developments in real estate registration in the Kingdom in a keynote speech, highlighting the pivotal role of the Real Estate Registry in building a unified and reliable system for data. He also announced the launch of the national blockchain infrastructure, which aims to enable the microcoding of real estate assets, enhance transparency, expand investment opportunities, and support innovative ownership models within a reliable regulatory framework.

On the sidelines of the forum, Al-Sulaiman met with Nigeria’s Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa. During the meeting, they discussed areas of joint cooperation, exchanged experiences and advice on shaping the future of the real estate sector, and reviewed best practices in implementing real estate registration systems that enhance reliability and improve the efficiency of property registration.
efficiency of property registration systems.

The Real Estate Registry’s participation included organizing three specialized workshops that focused on the role of geospatial technologies in identifying ownership, enhancing transparency, and improving the quality of real estate data. 

The workshop “Empowering the Real Estate Registry for the Business Sector” reviewed digital solutions that enable the business sector to manage its real estate assets more efficiently and enhance governance and technical integration. The workshop “From Off-Plan Sales to Title Deed” focused on the journey of documenting real estate ownership and the role of the registry in linking the stages of development and documentation within an integrated digital system.

On the sidelines of the forum, the Real Estate Registry signed 10 agreements and memorandums of understanding, including a deal with Yasmina Information Technology Co. to utilize real estate data in developing smarter insurance solutions that support the real estate sector and enhance service reliability. 

Partnerships were also signed with Haseel, NewTech, and Sahl, as well as HissaTech and Droub, to develop innovative digital solutions in property ownership, fractional ownership, and asset tokenization, as well as real estate finance and investment within a trusted regulatory framework.

Further collaborations included an MoU with ROSHN Group, an agreement with the Saudi Water Authority to enable data integration and quality enhancement, an agreement with the Saudi National Bank, and a partnership with Saudi Post to link the national address with the property registry as a unified geospatial identifier supporting data accuracy and integration.

The registry’s participation was crowned with the Golden Award at the Real Estate Excellence Awards in the category of Excellence in Property Documentation, in recognition of its role in building a model based on transparency, accuracy, and speed, as well as advanced digital technologies and specialized legal expertise, contributing to rights protection and increasing the sector’s attractiveness.

The Real Estate Registry emphasized that its participation reflects its continued role as a key enabler of the real estate sector, a trusted data source, and an active partner in driving digital transformation, enhancing market efficiency, and building investor and financier confidence, in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 objectives for a fully integrated and sustainable digital real estate ecosystem.