Thursday, 19 January 2023

Masdar inks plans for three renewables projects in Africa and Central Asia

TL;DR

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Good morning, friends. We’re just about wrapping up what has shaped up to be a busy week for the climate world, both in our neck of the woods and abroad.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- It’s all about Masdar. The Emirati giant inked several agreements to develop solar power projects in Ethiopia and Zambia, as well as a wind energy project in Kazakhstan. We have chapter and verse in this morning’s news well, below.

IN COP LAND- We have the official logo + branding for COP28: UAE Foreign Affairs Minister Abdullah bin Zayed formally unveiled COP28’s official logo and branding on Monday, at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (watch, runtime: 02:55). The “One World” branding represents the idea that the world needs to leverage our collective resources — natural, technological, and human — to spur multi-sector innovation, according to Wam. It’s intended to cement COP28 as a COP of inclusivity and action by bringing together public and private sectors, scientists, civil society, women, and youth from different geographies, the Wam statement adds. COP28 will take place at Dubai’s Expo City from 30 November to 12 December.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- US Fed wants major US banks to estimate climate change effects on financial risks: The US Federal Reserve has told the country’s six largest banks to submit data on how their businesses would be impacted by various hypothetical climate change-driven scenarios. The aim? To increase awareness of how financial risks could show up — possibly as a greater likelihood of loan defaults or losses, or a change in risk profiles. Estimates will include how more extreme weather events could affect real estate portfolios and how shifting to a lower-carbon economy could impact corporate lending.

They have until the end of July: Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo have been asked to submit responses by 31 July and the Fed will publish a summary of results towards the end of 2023.

The story is making the rounds: Reuters | Politico | Bloomberg | CNN


PSA- If you’re in Doha, you can now rent electric scooters and bikes, courtesy of USA’s Lime: US-based electric vehicle company Lime rolled out its rental Gen 4 electric bikes and scooters in Doha, according to a company statement picked up by Zawya. The company recently launched in Abu Dhabi.

WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Morocco sets 2030 renewables target: Renewables will account for 50-52% of Morocco’s energy mix by 2030, Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, according to Arab News. Morocco’s wind and solar resources have the potential to make the North African country one of the cheapest providers of renewables in the world, Akhannouch said, and can be used to fuel the country’s green hydrogen ambitions. Renewables currently account for 38% of Morocco’s energy needs.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Green hydrogen may be added to the UAE’s revised energy strategy, Reuters reports quoting Emirati Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei. The revised plan will be updated to align with the country’s net zero target of 2050 and launched later this year. The country plans to expand its solar energy production capacity to generate more hydrogen, and Mazrouei has previously said the UAE plans to account for 25% of the hydrogen export market and will target Japan, South Korea, and Germany as markets.

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THE DANGER ZONE- Over 90% of offsets provided by Verra — the world’s biggest carbon offset provider — are worthless, The Guardian reports based on a joint investigation with German weekly Die Zeit and nonprofit investigative journalism organization SourceMaterial. The investigation found that most of Verra’s offsets are phantom credits that may be worsening global warming, with “only a handful of Verra’s rainforest projects showing evidence of deforestation reductions,” and “94% of the credits had no benefit to the climate.” Verra’s voluntary carbon standard — which has sold credits to the likes of Gucci — has issued upward of 1 bn carbon credits and approves three quarters of all voluntary offsets, 40% of which comes from its rainforest protection program.

Verra has been gaining traction in the region as VCMs pick up pace: EGX was in talks with carbon standard Verra last November in anticipation of its launch of Africa’s first voluntary carbon market. In the same month, Saudi Arabia’s Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation (Apicorp) inked a USD 75 mn murabaha agreement to fund high-quality voluntary carbon offsets to develop environmentally friendly projects registered to Verra.


WORTH READING- Egypt’s AUC is exploring a new catalyst for hydrogen production: Egypt’s American University in Cairo (AUC) is researching ways to up the efficiency and reduce the cost of electrolysis — the process used to produce green hydrogen — by substituting new materials that are more affordable and easily sourced, according to an article in its AUC Today magazine.

In a nutshell: The idea is essentially to try substituting expensive, difficult-to-source platinum — the most commonly-used “catalyst” used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen — for other, more readily available ‘transition’ metals, the piece notes. Where possible, the team at AUC’s Energy Materials lab sources these metals from recycled materials, it adds. They have two “active” projects on the go: one focused on traditional electrolysis, powered by electricity generated by a renewable power plant, and another focused on a less advanced technology, where the catalyst absorbs solar energy directly from sunlight to split water molecules, the article tells us.

Why is this important? Electrolyzers imported into Egypt — and regional countries with similar challenges — won’t necessarily be built to withstand the composition of the local water, just as imported solar panels are often impacted by dust in a way they aren’t in Europe or the US, lab head Nageh Allam tells AUC Today. “Maybe our research will lead to a better catalyst or one that’s more durable in the Egyptian climate,” Allam adds.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Bahrain will host the Energy & Sustainability Forum from next Sunday, 22 January to Tuesday, 24 January in Manama. The forum will host panel discussions on how to decarbonize the downstream industry and how to pave the way for regional net zero objectives.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

RENEWABLES

Masdar is ramping up solar and wind investments in Africa and Central Asia

Emirati renewables giant Masdar is ramping up its solar expansion in Africa with two new agreements in Ethiopia and Zambia, according to Wam and Reuters. The agreements signed on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week will see Masdar developing projects with a total capacity of 2 GW per country. The Zambian solar projects are estimated to cost USD 2 bn and no financial details on the Ethiopian project were revealed.

First up, Zambia: The projects will be developed through a joint venture between state-owned power company Zesco and Masdar, Reuters reports. The first of the planned projects will begin “immediately” with 500 MW installed over an unspecified number of phases. Additional capacity will be added gradually to reach a total of 2 GW “over the next few years,” Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema said in a statement, without specifying the total number of facilities that will be developed. The projects will be financed through a “capital injection,” not a loan, Hichilema said.

As for Ethiopia, we don’t know much yet: The agreement appears to follow the same framework as those in Zambia, starting with the installation of 500 MW as a first phase, with additional phases to develop up to 2 GW of total capacity, Wam reports. No timeline or information about Masdar’s partners in Ethiopia was revealed.

Africa’s gaining momentum in the renewables sector: The UAE’s Amea Power has also been investing in the continent. The Dubai-based company announced a new 50 MW solar power plant in West Africa’s Ivory Coast this week and has solar projects in Burkina Faso and Mali. It also recently added 20 MW of capacity to its solar project in Togo to reach 70 MW last November.

REMEMBER- Al Gore along with other climate action advocates touted Africa’s potential as the “renewable energy superpower” during COP27 last November. The US environmentalist also added that 40% of the global potential for renewables is in Africa.

AND CENTRAL ASIA IS ON THE MAP-

Masdar is bringing wind power to Kazakhstan: The company inked an agreement with Kazakhstan to develop a 1 GW wind farm, marking its first project in the Central Asian country, according to a statement released yesterday. Masdar signed the agreement with the Kazakh Energy Ministry and the Kazakhstan Investment Development Fund, who will jointly develop the project. An initial phase will produce 500 MW of generational capacity and could potentially include battery storage. No timeline or financial details were disclosed in the statement.

BIG PLANS, BIG CAPACITY-

The renewables giant is looking to add up to 10 GW of new capacity this year, as it continues an ambitious, multi-pronged expansion plan targeting renewable energy capacity of at least 100 GW by 2030, Executive Director of Clean Energy Fawaz Al Muharrami told the National on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. The new capacity “will come from across all countries,” he added. Masdar is also eyeing new investment prospects in the US, he said, confirming reports picked up earlier this week that it would participate in the US-UAE PACE agreement.

Could green bonds be on the horizon? Masdar is looking to finance its projects using different debt mechanisms available in the market, Al Muharrami told the National. If commercial lending is scarce, the company will tap into development finance institutions, he added. It’s also eyeing a green bond issuance to raise additional funds, Al Muharrami added, without specifying when this might happen or how much the company might hope to raise from it.

AMMONIA

UAE’s Ta’ziz signs shareholder agreement for large-scale ammonia factory

UAE’s Ta'ziz enters shareholder agreement on ammonia factory: Ta’ziz — a joint venture between Adnoc and ADQ — has signed a shareholder agreement with Fertiglobe, Korea’s GS Energy Corporation and Japan’s Mitsui & Co for a low-carbon ammonia factory in the UAE with an annual capacity of around 1 mn tons, according to a statement released yesterday. The agreement marks a step forward towards a final investment decision for the project, which was initially announced in May 2021.

Are exports on the cards? The new partnership comes hot on the heels of Adnoc inking agreements to explore hydrogen supply options with offtakers in Japan and Korea, the statement notes, so presumably there’s a big window for exports on the horizon.

Adnoc is already shipping out ammonia: The company made its first low-carbon ammonia shipment to Hamburg-headquartered copper producer Aurubis last September— the first of several shipments bound for Germany. The UAE also signed several MoUs with Japan this week to boost the clean energy transition including boosting cooperation in ammonia manufacturing.

And has cracking plans: Adnoc and German industrial engineering multinational Thyssenkrupp signed an MoU for the joint development of large-scale ammonia cracking this week to extract hydrogen from ammonia after transportation.

GREEN HYDROGEN

Acwa Power + Austria’s Verbund explore green hydrogen exports to Europe

Austria wants in on MENA hydrogen exports: Tadawul-listed Acwa Power signed an MoU with Austrian utilities company Verbund to explore the developments of green hydrogen projects in MENA for export, according to a statement. The green hydrogen produced would be distributed by Verbund in Central Europe, and specifically in Austria.

Acwa recently expanded in Eastern Europe: The company is currently building a 240 MW wind farm in Azerbaijan with a reported investment of USD 300 mn — said to be the first foreign investment in renewables in the country — and has plans for more projects, with an eye to export electricity to Europe through the country, which sits between Eastern Europe and Western Asia.

About Verbund: The company operates hydroelectric plants in Austria and Germany — collectively handling some 130 facilities in both countries — and sourcing some 95% of their energy from renewable hydroelectric power, according to a company statement.

STARTUP WATCH

British finance accelerator will help fund sustainability-focused Egyptian projects

Egyptian renewables projects will get a financial boost from the UK: Nine green projects from across Egypt have been chosen to join the UK’s Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) Egypt’s inaugural program, according to a statement (pdf) released on Tuesday. The projects will receive technical assistance to help them attract finance from international investors.

The details: Selected according to the five criteria proposed by the CFA, the projects operate in renewable energy, waste, blue economy, agriculture and manufacturing. The accelerator will work with the companies on capacity-building before they meet with investors and financial institutions at an April workshop to network and pitch their projects.

The selected projects are:

  • Al Dawara: Aims to create plant-based single-use products.
  • Creative Power Solutions: A thermal solar panels manufacturer.
  • Farmtopia: Automates farming processes such as irrigation using artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.
  • Green Fashion: Produces eco-friendly fashion.
  • IRSC Renewable Energy Solutions: Provides agricultural and financial support to small-scale farmers.
  • ReNile: Uses advanced monitoring technologies to promote precision farming.
  • Tile Green: Produces eco-friendly building materials from plastic waste.
  • Zr3i: A digital agriculture platform focused on precision farming.

What is CFA? Announced prior to COP27 in November, the CFA is a GBP 10 mn, four-year technical assistance program funded by the UK government to build a pipeline of bankable low carbon projects in eight middle-income countries, helping them achieve national climate plans. South Africa-based consultancy firm Genesis Analytics and Egypt-based Acumen Consulting are working with the CFA on the local program.

Extra support for sustainable agriculture: The CFA will also support the Egypt-based Climate Resilience Fund, a USD 25 mn Middle East and Africa-focused VC fund that will provide pre-seed funding to startups working in sustainable agriculture. The fund will deploy half of its capital in Egyptian startups and the other half will be split between the Middle East and Africa.

ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Saudi Arabia’s Tadweeer inked a one-year MoU with the Kingdom’s Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) on Monday, according to a Tadawul disclosure. The companies will explore collaboration on waste conversion and recycling. Tadweeer, KSA-based Tebrak Trading & Contracting Company and Mounes Mohamed Alshayeb for Civil Construction signed a USD 11.36 mn agreement last week to develop e-waste repurposing plants in the Kingdom. The e-waste recycling facilities will have a processing capacity of 40k tons annually once operational in 2Q 2024.

Emirates Water and Electricity Company has opened a request for proposals for a planned 1.5 GW solar plant in Abu Dhabi, according to a press release. 19 bidders are formally qualified following the submissions launched last May. The project will increase the emirate’s solar capacity to c. 4 GW.

Egypt kicks solar tender to February: A planned tender for a 20 MW solar plant in Egypt’s Hurghada has been postponed due to the country’s recent volatility in the USD-EGP exchange rate, a source in the Electricity Ministry told Enterprise. The tender was scheduled to go ahead on 23 January but has been pushed to 22 February after the bidding consortiums requested time to reassess their figures. Seven consortiums purchased the tender booklet ahead of potential bids. The solar plant was first proposed more than seven years ago.

AROUND THE WORLD

China’s LONGi is sinking USD 6.7 bn in the world’s largest solar manufacturing base: China-based PV manufacturer and solar developer LONGi intends to invest CNY 45.2 bn (USD 6.7 bn) to build the world’s largest solar manufacturing base, Bloomberg reports, citing a company statement. It reportedly signed a letter of intent with local governments in China’s Shaanxi to set up projects that will double its manufacturing capacity, producing 100 GW of solar wafers and 50 GW of solar cells annually, Bloomberg notes, citing a Shanghai Stock Exchange filing. The plants are expected to become operational in 3Q 2024.

What could this mean for us? Even more reliance on The Red Dragon: China already has a monopoly over global solar panel supply chains with a market share of solar manufacturing products exceeding 80%, according to a July 2022 IEA report (pdf). This could increase to up to 95% by 2025, the report noted.

MENA’s solar projects have been hampered by supply chain snags: Solar projects in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have all faced delays in recent years, partly due to difficulties procuring essential manufacturing components off the back of rising import costs, import restrictions, and the impact of global inflation on key raw materials like silicon and aluminum.

But there is good news: LONGi indicated interest in growing its MENA footprint earlier this month, signing an agreement with KSA’s sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund covering the local manufacture of solar PV products in Saudi Arabia. The company had already announced it was “actively studying” the prospect of setting up manufacturing plants in key locations outside of China — including Saudi Arabia — in late-2021.

ON YOUR WAY OUT

The latest in comedy methane-reduction measures: France’s Danone is taking innovation to the next level in an attempt to reduce its methane footprint, with possible solutions including a face mask that could trap gas produced by burping cows, AFP noted on Tuesday. Danone is also considering changing cow diets to include algae that can prevent methane from forming in the stomach. These are just the latest in a series of unintentionally comical measures put forward to reduce methane emissions from livestock. In October, New Zealand proposed a plan to tax farmers for cow burps, prompting jokes and outrage.

Other ideas up Danone’s sleeve? Milk the poor cows for all they’re worth: Overall, there’s a lot that could be done to optimize production in Morocco, where Danone collects milk from small farmers — like increasing the milk yield of individual cows so farmers can reduce their herd sizes without their production suffering, company spokeswoman Jeanette Coombs-Lanot told AFP.

Globally, the company is targeting 30% less methane by 2030: Danone intends to slash its methane emissions by 30% by 2030, in large part by changing farm practices, AFP notes. Methane is responsible for some 30% of global warming to date, and livestock farming is a major source of emissions, the outlet adds.

CALENDAR

JANUARY 2023

14-21 January (Saturday-Saturday): Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

22-24 January (Sunday-Tuesday): Energy & Sustainability Forum, Manama, Bahrain.

January 2023: Bid submission deadline for green hydrogen projects to Hydrogen Oman (Hydrom).

FEBRUARY 2023

6-8 February (Monday-Wednesday): Saudi International Marine Exhibition and Conference, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

4-9 February (Saturday- Wednesday) International Association for Energy Economics’ International Conference, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

13-15 February (Monday-Wednesday): The Egypt Petroleum Show, Cairo, Egypt.

21-22 February (Tuesday-Wednesday): The Arab Green Summit, Dubai, UAE.

21-23 February (Tuesday-Thursday): World Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Summit, Dubai, UAE.

MARCH 2023

15-19 March (Wednesday-Sunday): Qatar International Agricultural and Environmental Exhibition, Doha, Qatar.

MAY 2023

1-4 May (Monday-Thursday): Arabian Travel Market, Dubai, UAE.

2-7 May (Tuesday-Sunday): Salon International de l’Agriculture au Maroc (SIAM), Meknes, Morocco.

16-18 May (Tuesday-Thursday): Seatrade Maritime Logistics Middle East, Dubai, UAE.

29-31 May (Monday-Wednesday): Electric Vehicle Innovation Summit, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

JUNE 2023

Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Africa Conference, Marrakesh, Morocco.

1-3 June (Thursday-Saturday): Envirotec and Energie Expo, Tunis, Tunisia.

SEPTEMBER 2023

Chariot Limited and Total Eren’s feasibility study on a 10 GW green hydrogen plant in Mauritania to be completed.

OCTOBER 2023

2-4 October (Monday-Wednesday): WETEX and Dubai Solar Show, Dubai, UAE.

NOVEMBER 2023

30 November – 12 December: Conference of the Parties (COP 28), Dubai, UAE.

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

End-2022

KSA’s Neom wants to tender three concrete water reservoir projects to up its water storage capacity by 6 mn liters.

2023

Early 2023: Egypt’s KarmSolar to launch KarmCharge, the company’s EV charging venture.

1Q2023: Oman will award two blocks of land for green hydrogen projects in Duqm, Oman.

Mid-2023: Sale of Sembcorp Energy India Limited to consortium of Omani investors to close.

Phase C of the 900-MW of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai to be completed.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) steam cracker furnace powered by renewable energy to come online.

4Q2023: Oman to award four blocks of land for green hydrogen projects in Thumrait, Oman.

2024

End-2024: Emirati Masdar’s 500 MW wind farm in Uzbekistan to begin commercial operations.

QatarEnergy’s industrial cities solar power project will start electricity production.

First 1.5 GW phase of Morocco’s Xlinks solar and wind energy project to be operational.

2025

Second 1.5 GW phase of Morocco’s Xlinks solar and wind energy project to be operational.

UAE to have over 1k EV charging stations installed.

2026

1Q 2026: QatarEnergy’s USD 1 bn blue ammonia plant to be completed.

End-2026: HSBC Bahrain to eliminate single-use PVC plastic cards.

Iraq’s Mass Group Holding wants to invest EUR 1 bn on its thermal plant Mintia in Romania to have 62% of run on renewable energy, while expanding its energy capacity to at least 1.29k MWh.

2027

MENA’s district cooling market is expected to reach USD 15 bn.

2030

UAE’s Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) wants to provide AED 35 bn in green financing.

UAE targets 14 GW in clean energy capacity.

Tunisia targets 30% of renewables in its energy mix.

Qatar wants to generate USD 17 bn from its circular economy, creating 9k-19k jobs.

Morocco’s Xlinks solar and wind energy project to generate 10.5 GW of energy.

2035

Qatar to capture up to 11 mn tons of CO2 annually.

2045

Qatar’s Public Works Authority’s (Ashghal) USD 1.5 bn sewage treatment facility to reach 600k cm/d capacity.

2060

Nigeria aims to achieve its net-zero emissions target.

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