Britain and Abu Dhabi to sign clean energy accord

Original Article

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Britain and an Abu Dhabi renewable energy company are to sign an agreement to cooperate on clean energy technologies, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Monday.

"Today we will sign an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with Masdar to work to develop and deploy low carbon technology for energy," Brown said during a visit to the United Arab Emirates. He said the deal will cover wind and solar energy as well as carbon capture and storage.

During Brown's visit to neighboring Qatar, the Gulf state agreed on Sunday to invest 150 million pounds ($243.4 million) in a British low-carbon energy technology fund.

The investment will be topped up with 10 million pounds by Britain's Carbon Trust and another 90 million pounds from private investors.

Last month, Abu Dhabi state-run Masdar said it was taking a 20 percent stake in the 1,000 megawatt London Array offshore wind farm project for an undisclosed sum. Abu Dhabi is the capital emirate of the UAE, the world's fifth-largest exporter of oil.

Masdar has been set up by the Abu Dhabi government to develop sustainable and clean energy. It aims to ensure a leading role in the future energy industry for the emirate, holder of 90 percent of the UAE's oil reserves.

Britain and the UAE signed an initial agreement in May for cooperation in peaceful use of nuclear energy.