Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, has signed a deal with Oman’s Rural Areas Electricity Company to build a US$125 million wind farm that will provide electricity to 16,000 homes.
The Oman deal represents the first large-scale wind project in the six-country GCC region, Masdar says, and is part of the wider strategic regional move to diversify into renewable and nuclear energy to improve energy diversity, lower carbon dioxide emissions, and free up oil and gas for export markets.
Regional investment in solar, wind and nuclear energy is expected to reach $100 billion over the next five years, Masdar estimates.
“The region is rapidly adopting renewable energy as a viable solution to meet growing electricity demands and to address long-term resource security,” Sultan bin Ahmed Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and Chairman of Masdar, said in a statement. “The United Arab Emirates is a first mover and the country is extending its global energy leadership through the deployment of wind and solar power domestically and internationally.”
In the wind sector globally, Masdar has a stake in the world’s largest wind project, the London Array, which lies off the east coast of Britain, although that project’s second phase expansion was cancelled earlier this year because of concerns about birds running into the wind turbines.
Masdar last month bought into the consortium working to complete the Dudgeon Wind Farm, a 402-megawatt project in the UK, paying more than £500 million pounds (Dh29.4 billion). In the Middle East, Masdar also is developing a 117-megawatt Tafila onshore wind farm in Jordan.
The Oman project extends Masdar’s Middle East reach and helps its fellow GCC member make better use of its resources.
“When completed, wind power will meet half of the Dhofar region’s energy needs during the winter,” said Hamed Al Magdheri, the chief executive of Raeco. “It will also reduce our reliance on traditional forms of energy, such as gas, which can be redirected toward more valuable industrial uses, while also extending the life of our hydrocarbon reserves.”
The Oman project will consist of 25 wind turbines and building ix expected to commence at the end of next year.
amcauley@thenational.ae
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Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
Correspondents
By Tim Murphy
(Grove Press)
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Canada |
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Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
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Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
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• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
T20 World Cup Qualifier
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