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• 
  PIF and Acwa Power take next solar round

  16 April 2024

  Saudi utility developer Acwa Power and Public Investment Fund (PIF) are now discussing the fourth round of the renewable energy programme being implemented by the Saudi sovereign vehicle.

  "We are now looking at the next round," Marco Arcelli, Acwa Power chief executive, tells MEED on the sidelines of the ongoing World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi.

  He declined to comment on the outage of one of its concentrated solar power (CSP) plants in Morocco, which is expected to result in $47m of lost revenue for the compoany.

  MEED previously reported that the company is working towards reaching financial close for three solar photovoltaic schemes with a a total combined capacity of 4,550MW, as part of Saudi Arabia's National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP).

  In February, Acwa Power said the schemes "have satisfied the conditions precedent for senior loans drawdown".

  The next round under discussion between Acwa Power and PIF is understood to have a similar capacity as the third round.

  The Riyadh-headquartered utility developer and its partner, Water & Electricity Holding Company (Badeel), signed the power-purchase agreements with Saudi Power Procurement Company to develop and operate the three projects in May last year.

  The three projects, located in the central and northern regions of Saudi Arabia, are:

  • Al Rass 2: 2,000MW
  • Saad 2: 1,125MW
  • Al Kahfah: 1,425MW

  The projects are estimated to cost a combined SR12.8bn ($3.4bn).

  According to Acwa Power's recent bourse filing, the banks that agreed to provide senior debt financing of SR8.6bn ($2.3bn) for the projects include:

  • Banque Saudi Fransi (local)
  • HSBC (UK)
  • Mizuho Bank (Japan)
  • Riyad Bank (local)
  • Saudi Awwal Bank (local)
  • Saudi National Bank (local)
  • Standard Chartered Bank (UK)

  The financing duration is 27.75 years. The project debt financing amount is non-recourse to Acwa Power, which owns a 50.1% equity in the three projects.

  Its partner, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) subsidiary Badeel, owns the remaining 49.9% equity in the projects.

  MEED reported in June 2023 that the developer team expected to have the financing in place for the projects by last year.

  The three projects take the number of solar PV contracts awarded by the PIF under the kingdom’s National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP) to five.

  It awarded contracts for developing the 1,500MW Sudair solar PV in 2021 and the 2,060MW Shuaibah 2 solar PV in 2022.

  PIF is mandated to procure 70% of the NREP’s target capacity through the kingdom's Price Discovery Scheme.

  The PIF also owns 44% of Acwa Power.

  Based on MEED data, the three projects take the total number of solar PV contracts developed by an Acwa Power-led team in Saudi Arabia to 10. These projects have a total combined capacity of 10GW.

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Etihad to decide Ghalilah 1 IWP capacity

  16 April 2024

  The planned Ghalilah 1 independent water project (IWP) in Ras Al Khaimah could have a capacity that ranges between 30 and 90 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD), according to Yusuf Al Ali, chief executive at Etihad Water & Electricity (Etihad WE), tells MEED.

  "The final capacity will be decided based on the studies being conducted and the demand growth trend," Al Ali told MEED. 

  Etihad WE recently invited qualified firms to submit proposals for a contract to undertake a technical consultancy service for Ghalilah 1 IWP.

  It expects to receive bids for the contract on 25 April.

  According to Etihad WE, the tenderer "must be a UAE national, individual or a company owned by nationals or a company in which 51% of the share capital is owned by nationals; a free zone company or branches of GCC and foreign companies having a local offices in the UAE".

  There is an existing seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plant in Ghalilah, which became operational in 2015. 

  US-based Aquatech constructed the SWRO plant in Ghalilah, which has a water production capacity of 15 million Imperial gallons a day (MIGD).

  Formerly Federal Electricity and Water Authority (Fewa), Etihad WE maintains at least three water desalination plants that are all on reverse osmosis technology.

  The other plants are located in Naqaa, the UAE northern region's first IWP with a capacity of 150MIGD, and Zawrah.

  Etihad WE is understood to have invested over AED2bn in recent years to enhance its transmission and storage capabilities, notably through projects like the Khuraijah water distribution centre (WDC), which has a capacity of 180 million gallons.

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  EGA and Masdar to sign deal

  16 April 2024

  The UAE’s Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) 16 April to collaborate on decarbonising EGA's overseas operations.

  Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, EGA chief executive, made the statement during ongoing World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi on 16 April.

  The executive said the challenges and initiatives involved in decarbonising its operations, including tapping partners like Masdar and new potential technologies such as hydrogen going forward.

  "We are looking for suitable partners to meet our decarbonisation target. In terms of technologies, we are looking at opitmising our gas generation plants, and pursuing renewable energy. In 10 years time we believe hydrogen will be available and at the right cost," Bin Kalban said. 

  Aluminium and steel production are carbon-intensive and considered hard-to-abate sectors.

  In 2021, EGA launched Celestial, a product range that is manufactured using solar-based electricity.

  German carmaker BMW became the first customer to sign up for Celestial aluminium. EGA will supply 43,000 tonnes of Celestial aluminium to BMW Group annually, which reduces BMW Group’s emissions by approximately 222,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

  In March this year, EGA announced that it had signed a binding sale and purchase agreement to acquire the German aluminium recycling firm Leichtmetall Aluminium Giesserei Hannover.

  Leichtmetall is a European specialty foundry, with production including hard alloys and larger diameter billets with high proportions of secondary aluminium.

  Leichtmetall uses renewable energy at its plant in Hannover to produce up to 30,000 tonnes a year of aluminium billets, with secondary aluminium as some 80% of input material.

  The company uses proprietary inductive melting technology, liquid metal treatment and casting processes to produce aluminium products from scrap metal.

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• 
  Summit opens with promise to keep Cop28 commitment

  16 April 2024

  Sheikha Shamma Bint Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, president and chief executive of the UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators, has stressed the need for blended finance to meet the investment requirements for meeting the 1.5-degree-Celcius climate target alive.

  Al Nahyan made the statement on the opening day of the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi.

  "Blended finance can be unlocked if various stakeholders, including governments and private sector investors, agree to collaborate… and try novel financing ideas," Al Nahyan said.

  Various research agencies have highlighted the need for trillions of dollars on investments particulary in clean energy systems to keep the 1.5-degree-Celcius target alive.

  It is the first WFES summit since close to 150 countries agreed to transition away from fossil fuels at Cop28 in December.

  Al Nahyan cited the other landmark agreeements signed during the Cop28 summit including tripling the renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency globally by 2030.

  Heavy rain amid adverse weather conditions in the UAE served as a backdrop to the opening day of the WFES summit this year.

  Related read: Cop28 keeps 1.5°C goal within reach

   

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11685840/main.jpg

  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Iraq evaluates waste-to-energy bids

  15 April 2024

  Iraq's National Investment Commission (NIC), in coordination with the Municipality of Baghdad, the Ministry of Electricity and the Ministry of Environment, is evaluating the proposals for a contract to develop a waste-to-energy plant in the Al Nahrawan area in Baghdad Governorate.

  MEED understands NIC received 13 bids for the contract on 31 March.

  An NIC spokesperson previously told MEED that 17 companies purchased the tender documents in January. 

  NIC has not issued the list of prequalified companies that can bid for the contract.

  The plant will have the capacity to treat 3,000 tonnes of waste a day and generate nearly 80 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity.

  It will be developed using a design-build-own-operate model.

  In early March, it was erroneously reported by local media that NIC had received 17 bids for the contract to develop the project.

  According to NIC, power generation "from mixed solid waste must be with high-efficiency and at least fourth-generation grate incineration technology with an electrical power generation efficiency higher than 30% and a landfill rate less than 5%".

  NIC invited investors and developers to qualify for the WTE scheme in August last year.

  In October, it was reported that some 42 companies had expressed interest or were prequalified to bid for the planned WTE contracts in Iraq.

  Waste-to-energy projects worth roughly $2bn are being planned in the Middle East, according to MEED Projects data.

  Construction works are under way for the $1.2bn WTE project located in a former landfill site in Warsan in Dubai.

  The concession agreement for Abu Dhabi's first WTE project in Al Dhafra was signed on 27 March.

  The capacity of the planned facility in Baghdad is comparable with that of the Dhafra WTE project, which can treat 900,000 tonnes of solid waste a year.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11683289/main.jpg

  Jennifer Aguinaldo