Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) announced that its Noor Energy 1 solar thermal photovoltaic integrated power plant has successfully completed a $2.7 billion debt refinancing, and the completion time is much earlier than the original target. This action not only optimizes the financial structure of the world's largest single solar thermal power plant, but is also seen as an important milestone in Dubai's clean energy strategy promotion process.

Noor Energy 1 is located in the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is the fourth phase of the park and a cornerstone project of Dubai's Clean Energy Strategy 2050. The total installed capacity of the power station is 950MW, consisting of 700MW of CSP and 250MW of PV. Among them, the solar thermal section adopts a hybrid technology of tower and trough, including one 100MW tower type molten salt thermal storage unit and three 200MW trough type units, and is equipped with a molten salt thermal storage system for up to 15 hours, which can achieve 24-hour uninterrupted clean power supply. The total investment of the project is about 4.3 billion US dollars, covering an area of 44 square kilometers. After operation, it is expected to provide green electricity for 320000 local residents and reduce 1.6 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

The core of this refinancing is to replace the original loans during the 2019 project construction period with better debt, thereby reducing financing costs. The financing amount is 2.7 billion US dollars, approximately 9.9 billion UAE dirhams. DEWA stated that the refinancing was completed much earlier than the predetermined target, aiming to optimize financing costs, strengthen project financial structure, and generate significant savings throughout the entire operational period. However, the specific borrower, interest rate, term, and saved amount have not been disclosed yet.

From the perspective of project financing history, Noor Energy 1 completed its initial financing in March 2019, with a debt financing scale of approximately $2.9 billion and an equity investment of approximately $1.5 billion. The $2.7 billion refinancing scale this time is lower than the initial debt, reflecting the improvement of the project's credit level after shifting from construction risk to stable cash flow during operation.

The equity structure of the project company is 51% held by DEWA, 25% held by Saudi ACWA Power, and 24% held by China the Silk Road Fund. At the same time, Shanghai Electric, a Chinese enterprise, is responsible for the EPC of the project, making the project one of the key cooperation projects along the the Belt and Road in China.

The project's electricity was purchased by DEWA at a fixed price of 7.3 cents per kilowatt hour, with a purchase agreement period of 35 years. This price set a global record for solar thermal power generation when it was awarded in 2017. DEWA CEO Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer pointed out that this refinancing is not just a financial transaction, but also a refinancing of a national asset. It conveys three signals: firstly, the strong confidence of the international, regional, and local financial communities in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai, and DEWA; The second is to consolidate Dubai's position as the preferred destination for long-term sustainable investment; The third is to demonstrate the strong vitality of the project model based on transparency, delivery, and trust.Editor/Xuning