OREANDA-NEWS. At the beginning of December, Bin Butti International Investment (BBII), a financially strong investment entity, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, and RWE AG have agreed to develop joint energy-related activities in the MENAT region (Middle East, North Africa and Turkey).

The focus is on developing wind and photovoltaics projects, also in partnership with third parties. Furthermore, BBII and RWE aim to carry out joint activities in areas such as energy efficiency, district cooling and combined use of power and heat for water desalination.

Peter Terium, CEO of RWE AG, underlines the importance of the cooperation with BBII for RWE: “We see the MENAT region as markets with good prospects for RWE. With BBII we have gained a further strong partner in the region to bring our innovations and the expertise we have gained from the energy transition to market, in order to seize opportunities for growth.”

Paul van Son, RWE Country Chair for MENAT, says: “We have had good experiences with long-term partnerships in the energy business in the region. Combining the know-how of RWE with the extensive business network of BBII will take forward the energy transition in the region – also in cooperation with our other partners.”

His Excellency, Butti Bin Butti Al Qubaisi, Chairman of BBII, states: “We are delighted to join forces with RWE – a company acknowledged for its broad and deep expertise in the energy business. We are confident that our trustful and long-term relationship will lead to many sound business cases that will yield benefits to both the United Arab Emirates and the region.”

Through its subsidiary RWE Middle East, a joint venture with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), RWE is already providing expert advice and engineering services in numerous projects in the United Arab Emirates. Among others, RWE Middle East has advised Dubai in developing its Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 and has developed a smart meter strategy for Abu Dhabi. Furthermore, RWE Middle East has been entrusted by Etihad ESCO, a DEWA venture, with developing the strategy, organisational structure and business plan for a new company to be established in order to implement Dubai’s power and water reduction programme. In addition, RWE is operating a gas-fired power station in the Turkish town of Denizli in a joint venture with Turcas.