COVER STORY
DANIEL CALDERONarabianbusiness.com 35
u Renewable energy is potentially a major job creatorI go into these communities
in places like Turkey and I see
how excited they are about
what we are doing, that’s
when I see the real value in
what we are doing.”
There is, of course, also the
added value of tackling climate
change. Calderon’s projects
are estimated to help reduce
CO 2 emissions by 710k tons
per year and save 1.5 million
cubic metres of water each
year. Given the META region
has one of the highest carbon
footprints in the world, creat-
ing energy independence can
only have a positive impact on
the geopolitical landscape.
As for Calderon himself
and Alcazar, the future looksbright. Barely four years since
starting the company, it has
already become a serious
player on the META stage
and expansion into other
regional countries could be
on the cards. Along the way
he has been supported by a
number of high calibre indi-
viduals whom he credits for
his success and, like him, have
left world-class companies to
join Alcazar and its vision for
a sustainable future.
He says: “Every day is a new
challenge and it wasn’t easy to
start this. But I was humbled
to find that when you explain
to people that you want to
build a legacy, to catalyse the
development of renewable
energy, to lower the cost of
electricity and create sustain-
able jobs, just how excited
people can get. That was
amazing to discover.”
At this rate, there is plenty
more excitement to come. a710,000
Number of tons of CO 2 emissions
Alcazar will save each yearValue added
Thanks to Alcazar, 357,000
households in the region will
be powered by renewable
energy, and it is a number that
is only heading up – and fast.
And despite fears that Donald
Trump’s withdrawal from the
Paris Agreement would dent
the industry, Calderon says
that once again, what matters
is the numbers.
“Look, we are fortunate we
are in a region where renew-
able energy actually lowers
the cost of electricity – in the
countries where we oper-
ate we are saving money for
governments. In the eight
plants we have developed, we
will save governments around
$1.6bn in the fossil fuels they
would have to burn. But just
as important, with them we
are also creating sustainable
jobs,” says Calderon.
Job creation is one of the
many wider benefits of this
sector, one that Calderon is
especially proud of. Its current
plants will see 4,700 people
employed during the one to
two year construction period.
The development of renew-
able energy plants is labour
intensive, with the construc-
tion of one mid-sized plant of
50MW creating an average of
750 jobs. With plants typically
located in rural and sub-urban
areas, renewable energy can
have a massive stimulus on
local communities.
He explains: “We care about
developing talent in the field
of renewable energy, too,
and are working with local
communities to train them
before construction so that
they have the right skills. A
word all of us like very much
in this company is ‘legacy’.
We believe all our projects
are sustainable and they are
built that way, including our
relationships with the govern-
ments. Our focus is on creat-
ing that sustainability. WhenPrior to Alcazar Energy,
Daniel Calderon worked at
Masdar as the head of
origination and investment
management for fi ve years
where he acquired, developed
and operated projects in the
renewable energy sector.
Prior to Masdar, he worked
at General Electric in various
M&A and principal
investments roles in Asia,
Europe, North and South
America. At the end of his GE
career, he was origination
director at GE Energy
Financial Services where he
covered equity investments
in the solar and wind sectors.
Calderon has developed
several GW of renewable
energy projects, including
the fi rst and second utility
scale wind farms in the
Middle East, two of the fi rst
solar PV plants in the UAE
and Jordan, the fi rst solar
CSP plant in the Middle East,
the world’s fi rst CSP Tower
project with salt storage, and
the world’s largest off-shore
wind farm as of 2014.
Prior to founding Alcazar
Energy Partners, he also had
the opportunity to be an
early investor in various
successful renewable energy
development platforms such
as Fotowatio, Torresol Energy
and Theolia among others.
Energy well spent
Daniel Calderon’s resume