Jasim Husain Thabet, CEO and Managing Director of Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) stated that the company’s market value is approximately AED 360 billion, ranking it among the top five utilities in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East for power generation, transmission, and water desalination, with operations in 25 countries.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 2025 World Utilities Congress, Thabet emphasized that the participation of 1,800 delegates from over 110 countries to discuss energy transition and water security challenges reflects Abu Dhabi’s global leadership in innovation, desalination, clean energy, and infrastructure development.
He noted that TAQA has doubled its power generation capacity over the past four years to reach 56 gigawatts, more than the electricity consumption of the UK. He also announced the acquisition, in collaboration with Mubadala, of an 875 MW gas-fired power plant in Uzbekistan to support the country’s energy transition and open new markets for TAQA in Central Asia. Additionally, TAQA acquired Transmission Investment in the UK, a company specializing in connecting offshore wind power to the mainland grid. He emphasized that such acquisitions will provide TAQA with opportunities for growth in new markets.
TAQA is also playing a vital role in supporting Abu Dhabi’s position as a hub for data centers and artificial intelligence by providing clean, certified, and reliable energy. The company is currently constructing a 1 GW gas turbine power plant.
In partnership with Masdar, in which TAQA holds a major stake, the company is developing 5 GW of solar power backed by 19 GWh of battery storage. When combined, this will provide a continuous output of 1 GW of electricity over 24 hours, representing the largest such project globally.
The total investment to support Abu Dhabi’s data center power requirements is expected to exceed AED 37 billion.
On another front, Thabet highlighted that Morocco remains a key market for TAQA, where the company operates power plants supplying 35% of the country’s electricity. Last week, TAQA signed agreements with Moroccan authorities and investors to invest AED 50 billion over the coming years in upgrading infrastructure, including solar and wind power plants, gas turbines, and seawater desalination plants with a capacity of 2.5 million cubic meters per day, in addition to expanding electricity and water transmission networks.
TAQA’s current priorities include executing announced landmark projects such as the Abu Dhabi Data Center and the infrastructure developments in Morocco and Saudi Arabia, particularly the construction of strategic water storage facilities to support the Hajj season in Mecca.
Looking ahead, TAQA aims to invest AED 75 billion by 2030 as part of its growth strategy to triple its current electricity capacity to 150 GW. The company also plans to build desalination plants with a daily capacity of 1.3 billion gallons, two-thirds of which will utilize energy-efficient reverse osmosis technology.