Saudi Arabia’s Acwa and EIG Form Plenum Power for US Assets, Targeting $4bn of Equity
Saudi Arabia’s Acwa has formed Plenum Power with Washington-based investor EIG, a US power venture the partners aim to launch with an estimated $4 billion of initial equity.
For Acwa, which describes itself as the world’s largest private water desalination company, Plenum is a platform for US generation and storage, built on the partners’ view that electrification and AI data centres will lift power demand. Acwa will own 49% and EIG 51%, and Acwa told the exchange the signing is not expected to have a material financial impact. Neither document says how much of the $4 billion each partner will provide.
The US deal was announced a day after a Gulf contract. On 28 October Acwa signed a 30-year water purchase agreement with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) for the Hassyan seawater desalination plant, a contract valued at $478 million. In The Edge’s reading, signing both deals on the same day shows Acwa building a US platform while still adding long-term utility contracts in the Gulf.
Plenum Power pairs EIG’s capital with Acwa’s build and operate model
The definitive agreements were signed on 28 October and announced the next day from Washington and Riyadh. Acwa signed through an affiliate, and its Saudi Exchange disclosure describes a long-term partnership under a perpetual contract. Its purpose is to buy and develop power generation and energy storage assets in the United States.
Capital deployment is subject to agreed governance, investment criteria and approval of each transaction, the disclosure says. The partners have named no target asset, no launch date and no capacity goal so far. Acwa says it will assess and announce the impact of any future transaction separately.
The partners build the case on demand. They expect electrification and the fast build-out of AI data centres to require new generation, energy storage and investment in existing plants. Plenum is set up to pursue both acquisitions and new capacity.
R. Blair Thomas, EIG’s chief executive, said the US power industry “is at an inflection point”. He described recent dislocation in US renewable energy development, caused by regulatory changes, supply chain inflation and interest rates, as an attractive entry point for a new entrant at scale. He expects the same forces to drive consolidation in the industry.
Samir J Serhan, Acwa’s chief executive, called the partnership an important step in expanding Acwa’s international footprint. The scope covers conventional and renewable generation as well as energy storage.
EIG brings the financing side, with $27.1 billion of assets under management at 30 June 2026. Over its 44-year history it has committed more than $55 billion to the energy sector. Those commitments went to 429 projects or companies in 44 countries.
EIG puts its commitments to power generation, renewables, storage and related energy transition infrastructure at more than $14.2 billion. Andrew Ellenbogen, its president, said Plenum follows the platform-building approach EIG has used in oil and gas, LNG and battery storage. The two firms have worked together before on projects in the Middle East.
Plenum Power and Hassyan: the terms
| Term | Plenum Power | Hassyan water project |
|---|---|---|
| Counterparty | EIG Management Company | DEWA |
| Acwa stake | 49% | 40% |
| Partner stake | 51% | 60% |
| Headline figure | $4bn initial equity target | $478m contract value |
| Duration | Perpetual | 30 years |
| Signed | 28 Oct 2026 | 28 Oct 2026 |
| Financial impact | Not expected to be material at signing | Expected from 2030 |
Plenum’s figure is the partners’ approximate target for initial equity commitments; the Hassyan figure is the water purchase contract value as filed, equal to SAR 1,794 million.
DEWA confirms a $478 million Hassyan desalination contract
Acwa disclosed the Hassyan agreement on 28 October. DEWA confirmed its main terms in a letter to the Dubai Financial Market the next day. Acwa will develop, finance, build and operate the seawater reverse osmosis plant.
The independent water project, located in Dubai’s Hassyan Complex, is sized at 272,000 cubic metres of desalinated water a day. DEWA expects commercial operation in October 2029, and Acwa expects the financial impact from 2030, after the project is completed.
DEWA will own 60% of the project and Acwa the remaining 40%. On an ownership basis, Acwa’s 40% stake corresponds to 108,800 cubic metres a day, The Edge’s calculation; the filing sets no separate production share.
Hassyan’s capacity equals 2.8% of the 9.7 million cubic metres a day of desalination capacity in Acwa’s portfolio at the end of June. For Dubai, the plant adds desalinated water supply under a long-term contract with the emirate’s own utility as majority owner.
Acwa’s portfolio spans 111 assets in 16 countries
At the end of June Acwa managed 111 assets across operation, construction and advanced development. The portfolio carried 98.2 GW of power generation capacity.
Acwa estimated its assets under management at SAR 475 billion at the end of June, up SAR 30 billion in the half. The Plenum release gives the figure as $127 billion.
Construction ran at 32 projects. Together they represent an estimated 47 GW of power and 2 million cubic metres a day of water. Power assets were available more than 92% of the time in the first half, and water assets more than 98%.
During the half the company added 5.2 GW of power and 0.6 million cubic metres a day of desalination to its development pipeline. Since then it has reached commercial operation at The Red Sea utilities system, on 6 September, and financial close on the Rabigh 2 power expansion, on 4 October.
First-half net profit was SAR 653 million, 28.2% lower than a year earlier. The company linked the result to the timing of certain developments, divestment and financial close activities. Its chief financial officer, Abdulhameed Al Muhaidib, said some development milestones, including financial closes and agreement signings, were expected to move back by 6 to 12 months, adding that this did not change the company’s view of its pipeline.
Acwa’s portfolio at 30 June 2026
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Assets managed | 111 |
| Countries | 16 |
| Power generation capacity | 98.2 GW |
| Desalination capacity | 9.7m m3 a day |
| Projects under construction | 32 |
| Power availability, first half | Above 92% |
| Water availability, first half | Above 98% |
Assets span operation, construction and advanced development, as reported with Acwa’s first-half 2026 results on 6 August 2026.
What to watch: Acwa’s disclosure of Plenum Power’s first transaction, and commercial operation at Hassyan, which DEWA expects in October 2029.
Figures are from Acwa’s release of 29 October 2026, its disclosures on the Saudi Exchange of 28 and 29 October 2026, DEWA’s letter to the Dubai Financial Market of 29 October 2026 and Acwa’s first-half 2026 results release of 6 August 2026; percentages and comparisons not attributed to a source are The Edge’s calculations.
Sources: Acwa, Saudi Exchange, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Dubai Financial Market, The Edge.
