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  Operationalise loss and damage fund says Al Jaber

  2 May 2024

  Steps must be taken to ensure a fully functioning Loss and Damage Fund, following an agreement at Cop28 to operationalise the fund, according to Cop28 President Sultan Al Jaber.

  “While delivering an agreement to operationalise the Fund at Cop28 was a huge breakthrough for climate progress more needs to be done,” Al Jaber said during the first board meeting of the fund on 30 April.

  The Loss and Damage Fund, which was first proposed in the 1990s, aims to help developing countries cope with the impact of extreme global warming events such as droughts and floods.

  Al Jaber cited the need to build a fully functioning fund, which will be endorsed at Cop29 in Baku, which will be “disbursing funds soon after and a Fund that delivers lasting, positive, socio-economic impact for decades to come."

  "While it took over three decades to establish this Fund, climate change has not stood still. Every region of the world is now vulnerable…the impacts of climate change are a clear and present danger to lives and livelihoods everywhere."

  Al Jaber’s message resonates closer home given the recent storms hitting the UAE, which brought some emirates to a standstill in mid-April.

  Heavy rainfall inundated Dubai and the Northern Emirates on 16 April, causing flooding and significant property and infrastructure damages.

  A total of $792m has been pledged for loss and damage funding arrangements – of which $662m has been pledged to the Fund to date – including a $100m contribution each from the UAE and Germany and $75m from the UK.   

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11732746/main.jpg

  Jennifer Aguinaldo
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  Norwegian firm to develop Oman wave energy project

  2 May 2024

  Oman's shipping and logistics firm Asyad Group has signed an agreement with Norwegian wave energy company Havkraft to explore the development of wave energy.

  It is the first project of its kind in the sultanate and across the region.

  Havkraft is known globally for pioneering technologies that enable the production of renewable electricity from wave energy.

  According to Havkraft Middle East adviser Matt Minshall, wave power has the potential to be the “most eco-friendly and cost-effective route to net zero”.

  Oceans cover 78% of the earth’s and waves have the potential for energy with the reliability of a constantly charged battery, and have remained untouched, according to Minshall.

  The Norwegian startup reached a breakthrough in 2013 when it successfully developed the Havkraft Wave Energy Converter (H-Wec), which is suited for "all types of wave climates globally."

  Since then, the company has launched several solutions, including the deployment of a floating power-plant powered entirely by wave energy.

  Havkraft envisages a supersystem – a combination of solar, wind and wave power – to achieve a more resilient and sustainable energy mix while reducing dependence on expensive storage.

  Photo: Asyad

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11732539/main.jpeg

  Jennifer Aguinaldo
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  Saudi Arabia foregoes April nuclear bid deadline

  2 May 2024

  The 30 April bid deadline for nuclear technology providers to submit bids for a contract to build Saudi Arabia's Duwaiheen nuclear power plant project has passed without any clear indication of a new tender closing date, according to two sources familiar with the project.

  "The understanding is that the tendering process requires a level of [political] stability in the region. This seems like an automatic postponement for the project tendering process," one of the sources said.

  Companies that have been invited and are expected to bid for the contract include:

  • China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC, China)
  • Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco, South Korea)
  • Rosatom (Russia) 
  • EDF Group (France)

  The project is in the so-called bid invitation specification stage, and there are no direct negotiations taking place between the client and the potential bidders at this stage, MEED reported in July 2023.

  Saudi Arabia plans to build a large-scale nuclear power plant facility as part of its energy diversification agenda. 

  However, the ongoing conflict between Israel, Gaza and other neighbouring countries appears to be a major contributing factor to the extended procurement timeline of the Duwaiheen nuclear plant project.

  In October, an industry source said the ongoing conflict in Gaza is not likely to help advance negotiations between the countries with a key stake in the project.

  It is understood that Riyadh is using its nuclear power plant project, along with its plan to enrich uranium sources as part of its industrial strategy, as a bargaining chip with the US government. The White House is pushing for the normalisation of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia and opposed to uranium enrichment.

  A month before the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas started, it was reported that senior Palestinian officials were in Riyadh for talks with senior Saudi and US officials.

  According to a BBC report in September 2023, the Palestinians were negotiating for hundreds of millions of dollars and more control of land in the occupied West Bank in the event of a three-way deal between Israel, Saudi Arabia and the US.

  On 14 October, Saudi Arabia suspended the talks on potentially normalising ties with Israel, which it never officially recognised as an independent state.

  Consultants

  Duwaiheen Nuclear Energy Company last year received three bids for the project management consultancy package for the nuclear plant project.

  MEED understands the following companies submitted proposals for the contract:

  • Atkins (UK/Canada)
  • Worley (Australia)
  • Assystems (France)

  Two of the three bidders have had previous engagements with the Saudi nuclear energy project. 

  2.8GW project

  The Duwaiheen nuclear power plant is expected to be procured using a traditional design-and-build model. 

  In September 2016, MEED reported that Saudi Arabia was carrying out technical and economic feasibility studies for the first reactors, and was also looking at possible locations for the kingdom’s first nuclear project, a 2.8GW facility.

  A site at Khor Duwaiheen, on the coast near the UAE and Qatari borders, was subsequently chosen for the first project.

  In March 2022, Saudi Arabia announced the establishment of a holding company – understood to be the Duwaiheen Nuclear Energy Company – to develop nuclear power projects in the country to produce electricity, desalinate seawater and support thermal energy applications.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11729932/main.jpg

  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Saudi Arabia enjoys growth conditions

  1 May 2024

  Register for MEED's guest programme 

  

  Sources: IMF (April 2024), MEED Projects, MEED

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  MEED's April 2024 special report on Saudi Arabia includes:

  > GVT & ECONOMY: Saudi Arabia seeks diversification amid regional tensions
  > BANKING: Saudi lenders gear up for corporate growth
  > UPSTREAM: Aramco spending drawdown to jolt oil projects
  > DOWNSTREAM: Master Gas System spending stimulates Saudi downstream sector
  > POWER: Riyadh to sustain power spending
  > WATER: Growth inevitable for the Saudi water sector
  > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi gigaprojects propel construction sector
  > TRANSPORT: Saudi Arabia’s transport sector offers prospects

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  MEED Editorial
• 
  Bapco and Masdar plan 2GW wind projects

  1 May 2024

  Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) has signed an agreement with Bahrain’s Bapco Energies to jointly explore developing and investing in wind projects with a capacity of up to 2GW.

  The agreement for near-shore and offshore wind farms is Masdar’s first in Bahrain.

  At up to 2GW, the clean energy collaboration will support Bahrain in accelerating the decarbonisation of critical industrial sectors and open avenues to develop new market sectors.

  Bahrain aims to reduce emissions by 30% by 2035 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2060, as outlined in its National Energy Strategy.

  Bapco Energies Group chief executive Mark Thomas said the partnership with Masdar “demonstrates our commitment to diversifying the kingdom of Bahrain’s energy mix to include cleaner energy sources, underscoring our role as leaders in renewable energy development”.

  Masdar has codeveloped several wind projects, including the 400MW Dumat Al Jandal wind farm in Saudi Arabia, the 630MW London Array offshore wind project in the UK, and the 103.5MW UAE wind programme, which utilises innovative technology to capture low wind speeds at utility scale.

  Masdar aims for a renewable energy portfolio capacity of 100GW by 2030.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11729221/main.jpg

  Jennifer Aguinaldo