Emirates Global Aluminium brings more solar to its energy mix with clean energy certificates: Emirati aluminum conglomerate Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has purchased clean energy certificates for 1.1 mn MWh of electricity from Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) in a bid to support its production of solar aluminum, according to a statement published on Thursday on WAM. These certificates will certify EGA’s production of around 80k tons of its solar-powered aluminum CelestiAL, the statement notes. The statement does not provide details on the cost of the certificates.

Uh, Enterprise? What are clean energy certificates? Renewable energy certificates (RECs) are a MWh by MWh way of proving that you own or created renewable energy. A REC is issued when one MWh is delivered to the electricity grid from a renewable energy source, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notes. RECs contain important data about the source of the renewable energy — including the kind of energy produced and its level of emissions — which play a crucial role in the tracking, accounting, and identifiable ownership tied to renewable electricity generation and use, the EPA tells us. Investopedia has more.

What do we know about the RECs purchased by EGA? They’re the only accredited way in Abu Dhabi for industrial energy consumers to prove that their electricity is coming from renewable sources. The RECs will track the use of solar power from UAE’s Noor Abu Dhabi solar plant in Sweihan, the statement says. Issued by the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, they meet international standards and EWEC runs auctions to sell certificates for solar and nuclear-generated electricity in Abu Dhabi, the statement notes.

EGA wants to slash emissions in its aluminum production: EGA made an announcement in March that it plans to move away from using primarily natural gas in its production by selling its natgas-fired power plants to Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) and Dubal Holding. EGA is planning on sourcing power from the grid under a long-term supply agreement — including an increasing proportion of clean energy from EWEC — and renewable energy from existing solar power assets alongside the Baraka nuclear plant, according to an earlier statement. The plan is still pending regulatory approval.