Mena’s renewables investment to hit $97 billion in five years

Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp) said on Wednesday $97 billion of the $237 billion investment required in the power sector of the Middle East North Africa region over the next five years will be in the renewables sector.

The investment company, which was established in 1975 by the 10 member states of Oapec to foster the development of the Arab world’s energy industries, announced that it has signed a $50 million revolving construction facility with the UAE-based Yellow Door Energy, a leading sustainable energy provider for businesses, to develop solar-PV plants in the region.

The first utilisation of the financing will be for solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in Jordan, where Yellow Door Energy is currently operating and building 79MW of solar PV projects across the country — the largest such portfolio of any company operating there, Apicorp said in a statement.

Yellow Door Energy currently has over 110 megawatts of solar assets operating and under construction in the UAE, Jordan, and Pakistan, with recent expansions into Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman. Yellow Door Energy is one of Apicorp’s investee companies and in 2019 the corporation and a consortium of international and regional banks invested $65 million in Yellow Door Energy to scale up investments in solar energy and efficiency solutions in emerging markets.

“For years, Apicorp has been a trusted financial partner in the region’s energy sector, and we are delighted to extend further support to Yellow Door Energy as it scales up its solar operations in into new markets,” said Dr Ahmed Ali Attiga, CEO of Apicorp.

He said the revolving construction facility demonstrates Apicorp’s commitment to accelerate sustainable energy transition in the region. “Apicorp’s financing portfolio is now over 15 per cent green and we are looking to continue to increase this as we move towards our strategic priorities for the energy transition.”

Jeremy Crane, CEO of Yellow Door Energy, said with over $50 million of solar and energy efficiency projects currently under construction, the company continues to be the leader in the region’s energy transition. “Yellow Door Energy is pleased to be working with Apicorp again to propel our mission to provide low cost, reliable and sustainable energy solutions to businesses across Mena.”

— issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com

Issac John

Editorial Director of Khaleej Times, is a well-connected Indian journalist and an economic and financial commentator. He has been in the UAE's mainstream journalism for 35 years, including 23 years with Khaleej Times. A post-graduate in English and graduate in economics, he has won over two dozen awards. Acclaimed for his authentic and insightful analysis of global and regional businesses and economic trends, he is respected for his astute understanding of the local business scene.