Energy · Profile from Energy Research Companion
ACWA Power
A Riyadh-based developer, investor and operator of power plants, desalination plants and, increasingly, green hydrogen, founded in 2004 by Saudi family business groups and now ~44% owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF, reported, verify current stake), which built a business on winning state tenders at record-low tariffs and then financing the plants with long, cheap project debt. It has no material US operating assets (verify): its links to the US market run through partners — chiefly Air Products, its one-third partner and exclusive 30-year offtaker in the ~$8.4bn NEOM green-hydrogen plant — and through US and international lenders and bond investors. At end-2025 it reported a portfolio of ~93 GW of power capacity (gross, including projects under construction and in advanced development; ~43 GW operating) and ~9.2m m³/day of desalinated water across 108 assets in ~15 countries, with net profit attributable to shareholders of ~SAR 1.9bn (~$0.5bn) for 2025 (company, Mar 2026; Argaam gives ~SAR 1.85bn). Its story is what happens when the lowest bid in the world is backed by a sovereign balance sheet — and how much leverage that model needs.
At a glance
- Founded
- 2004 as the Arabian Company for Water and Power Development by a consortium of Saudi business groups (reported; founding shareholders included the Abunayyan and Al Muhaidib groups, verify list)
- Headquarters
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; regional offices in Dubai, Istanbul (historically), Cairo, Tashkent, Johannesburg and Beijing (reported, verify)
- Ownership / structure
- Listed on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul: 2082) since 11 Oct 2021; PIF ~44% (reported after the IPO; verify after the 2025 rights issue); founding families and Vision Invest hold most of the rest of the pre-IPO shares (reported)
- Leadership (2026)
- Mohammad Abunayyan (chairman, founder); Marco Arcelli (CEO, from 2023, verify start date; formerly at Enel and Steag); Paddy Padmanathan (CEO ~2008–2022, verify dates)
- Segments
- Thermal power and water desalination (often combined "IWPP" plants); renewables (solar PV, CSP, wind); green hydrogen (NEOM); operations and maintenance through its NOMAC subsidiary
- Scale
- ~93 GW gross power portfolio, ~52.3 GW of it renewables; ~9.2m m³/day water; 108 assets; ~25 GW and ~2.1m m³/day added in 2025 (company, end-2025). Operating: ~43 GW power and ~6.3m m³/day water (company, verify date)
- US exposure
- No US plants or PPAs found (verify). US links: Air Products (NEOM; Jazan gasification JV, ACWA 25%), US banks in project syndicates, dollar green bonds, and the US dollar peg of the Saudi riyal (SAR 3.75/$) that makes its dollar-denominated debt low-risk in currency terms
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Founding and the water-power model (2004); record-low solar tariffs (2015–21); Noor Ouarzazate in Morocco (2016–18); Noor Energy 1 CSP in Dubai (2018); NEOM green hydrogen (2020–27); Saudi IPO (2021); Central Asia and Africa expansion (2023–26); the 2025 rights issue and the leverage question
8 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2004
Founding and the Water Power Model
Founding
2015
Record Low Solar Tariffs
Offtake contract / pricing (competitive tenders)
2016
Noor Ouarzazate
Construction or commissioning / technology bet (concentrated solar power)
2018
Noor Energy 1 Dubai CSP
Project final investment decision / technology bet
2020
NEOM Green Hydrogen
Technology bet / project final investment decision
2021
Saudi IPO
IPO
2023
Central Asia and Africa Expansion
Strategy pivot / international expansion
2025
Rights Issue and Leverage
Financing (rights issue) / risk lens on leverage