According to ACWA Power Co., finance for a green hydrogen project in Neom, Saudi Arabia, could be finished soon.
According to Paddy Padmanathan, chief executive officer of ACWA, the $5 billion project in the northwest of the kingdom is “very much on pace” to be completed as planned in 2026.
The largest renewable energy company in Saudi Arabia is a part of the consortium overseeing the project. Other businesses include Air Products & Chemicals Inc. of the United States.
At the COP27 climate conference in Egypt, Padmanathan stated, “We plan to accomplish the full finance before the end of this year.” “We’re almost finished,”
According to him, the equity partners have invested around 900 million dollars of their own funds.
Saudi Arabia aspires to dominate the global hydrogen export market. The fuel is less harmful than coal, natural gas, and oil since it only releases water vapor when it is burned. According to BloombergNEF, if manufacturers can reduce costs, the industry may be worth $700 billion yearly by 2050 despite the lack of a mass-production technology for it.
When water atoms are divided using solar and wind energy, the green variety of the fuel is produced. The kingdom’s efforts to make blue hydrogen, which is created by converting natural gas and collecting the carbon dioxide emitted in the process, are being led by the state energy company Saudi Aramco.
For the Neom and other renewable projects, higher financing rates and inflation have been “extremely tough,” according to Padmanathan. The coronavirus pandemic and the turmoil in Ukraine have both affected supply chains, driving up the cost of equipment, he claimed.
He previously stated to Bloomberg that solar power project expenses will increase for the next five to seven years.
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Nevertheless, he expresses “zero anxiety” about the appeal of renewable energy diminishing in comparison to fossil fuels, whose prices have increased dramatically this year.
At the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, he remarked, “Every country that we are working with—and we are working in 13 countries—says, “How much more renewables can you offer me, faster?” “Everyone is aware that the trajectory toward renewable energy is the best course of action. Profit is important, too, not simply for the environment.
