TODAY: More wind for Egypt + Veolia sells Morocco’s Lydec

Good morning, friends. It’s a busy morning with lots to unpack, beginning with us “catching wind” of a new wind power facility on the horizon in Egypt courtesy of Masdar. First, the China-EU tariff squabble has landed at the WTO’s feet…

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- China takes the EU tariffs fight to the WTO: China has lodged a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the EU’s decision to impose anti-subsidy duties on Chinese EVs. China’s Ministry of Commerce stated that the EU’s provisional conclusion lacks both factual and legal foundation and that the decision severely violates WTO rules and undermines global cooperation on climate change.

The investigation is ongoing: There will be additional hearings held for the EU’s anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese EV firms SAIC, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and BYD. SAIC — facing the highest provisional duty at 37.6% — recently attended a hearing with the European Commission requested by the company, while Geely and BYD are also engaging with EU regulators to push against the block’s decision to impose 19.9% and 17.4% import tariffs on the Chinese vehicles, respectively.

REMEMBER- China has been looking to the WTO for help: China asked the WTO to establish an expert panel to resolve the dispute over the EV subsidies the US is rolling out under the Inflation Reduction Act last month. China also began a dispute settlement against the US at the WTO in March, citing “discriminatory subsidies” that exclude their EVs from the market in March.

The story made headlines in the international press: AP | Reuters | Bloomberg | The Financial Times | Axios | Euronews

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WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Egypt’s NREA allocates land for renewables plants: The Egyptian New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) has allocated land plots spanning 31k km for investors looking to set up renewable energy projects, Al Mal reported on Thursday, citing sources from Egypt’s Electricity Ministry. The total renewable energy expected from these projects is estimated at 113 GW — most of which will be generated from green hydrogen, namely from projects that first saw the light during COP27 in 2022.

Who and where? Orascom Construction, Masdar, Al Nowais, Acwa Power, and Norway’s Scatec are all on the list of interested parties in line for plots. The largest portion of the land is located in Sohag and Aswan, the sources told Al Mal.

IN OTHER EGYPT NEWS- The first transformer at the Egyptian-Saudi 500 kV interconnection station in Egypt’s Badr City was installed on Saturday, according to a statement released on Saturday. The interconnection aims to enhance the electrical grid’s connectivity with neighboring networks, and allow countries to trade their renewable energy generation. The transformer built in Badr City is the first of its kind in the Middle East in both size and type of technology employed.

The project is coming a long way: The infrastructure for the 3 GW Egypt-Saudi interconnection project was around 40-50% complete in February. The project — which consists of 3 stations connected via 1.35 km of overhead lines and 22 kms of submarine cables in the Gulf of Aqaba — is expected to come fully online in 2026.

ALSO- Egypt inaugurated the first meeting of the Environmental and Climate Policy Committee — a new body aimed at steering the country’s green transition, according to a statement. The committee — headed by Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad with the participation of key ministries and stakeholders — will focus on setting objectives, responsibilities, and collaboration across sectors in order to facilitate international financing for Egypt’s green initiatives. The committee will also discuss the practical implementation of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) recommendations for Egypt’s green growth policies.

#2- Joby to operate eVTOLs in Dubai next year: US-based electric aircraft maker Joby Aviation is set to commence commercial services of its battery-powered air taxis in Dubai by late next year, Bloomberg reported last week, citing comments by the company’s CEO JoeBen Bevirt. The company plans to have the infrastructure needed to run the electric air vehicles ready this year, before running initial flights in 2H 2025, in preparation for a full commercial launch at the end of 2025. The certifications needed to inaugurate the product — to be obtained from the US Federal Aviation Administration and other international regulators — are still pending.

Joby is expanding in the region: The eVTOL outfit is also taking part in Abu Dhabi’s Smart and Autonomous Vehicles Industry cluster and inked an MoU with Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipalities and Transport to lay the groundwork for it to introduce inter-emirate electric air tax services as early as 2025, last month. Joby is also partnering with Aramco subsidiary Mukamalah Aviation to deploy eVTOLs in Saudi Arabia.

#3- Chinese EV manufacturers eying investments in Turkey: Chinese automakers Chery and Saic are in talks with Turkish authorities and potential domestic partners to invest over USD 1 bn each in setting up electric and hybrid manufacturing facilities in Turkey, Reuters reported last week, citing comments made by head of the presidential investment office Burak Daglioglu. Saic’s distribution firm in Turkey, Dogan Trend Otomotiv, is also close to inking an agreement with Saic to build combustion and hybrid cars in the country. This follows the Turkish government’s introduction of a USD 5 bn incentive package for factories with a capacity of at least 150k electric or hybrid vehicles.

Other Chinese car makers are eying Turkey too: Last month, Chinese EV maker BYD signed an agreement with the Turkish government to build a USD 1 bn EV and hybrid production plant in the country, with another data center investment scheduled by year’s end. Turkey’s EV manufacturer Togg is also reportedly negotiating a possible collaboration with Chinese carmaker Guangzhou Automobile Group.

The EU has a lot to gain: Other than serving the domestic market, the move could be a means of evading extra tariffs imposed by the EU on Chinese EV imports, especially as Turkey holds the position of largest car manufacturer in Europe and highest exports with an annual value exceeding USD 35 bn. Stakeholders can use the agreement to their advantage by entering European markets using Turkey’s customs union with the EU.

#4- Oman is launching a tender for a landfill gas to energy facility this month: Oman Environmental Services Holding Company (Be’ah) will accept bids for constructing a landfill gas-to-energy system this month, Zawya Projects reported last week, citing the company’s tender document. OQ Trading — a state-owned international energy and commodity-trading company — will advise on project development and carbon credit sales. An international tender for the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) of systems in Barka and Al Multaqa was issued in July 2024. The tender documents are available until 11 August, with the bid for submission opening on 25 August.

Be’ah is already capturing gas at other sites: Currently, gas is being captured at the Al Multaqa and Barka landfills, with future plans to register the project, amongst others, for carbon credits, according to the OIA’s latest annual report (pdf). The firm is also exploring alternative uses for the captured gas, such as converting it into biogenic CO2 or adding it to the national supply of natural gas, the report states.

And is working on a WtE project in Barka: Be’ah, in partnership with Nama Power and Water Procurement Company is also working on a waste-to-energy project in Barka to treat over 70% of Oman’s annual municipal solid waste, according to the report. The WtE plant, expected to have a power capacity between 130-140 MW, is projected to be operational by Q2 2028.

DANGER ZONE-

Where did Cairo’s trees go? In the three years leading up to 2020, Cairo lost some 911k sqm of green space as the government carried out projects to expand main roads, slashing the governorate’s trees in the process, Reuters writes. Cairo also witnessed a number of parks cleared to make room for shops and cafes, while other green spaces have been removed for no clear reason. This has left the country with 1.2 sqm of green space per capita — far below the World Health Organization’s recommended 9 sqm.

The loss of green space carries significant health implications: The loss of parks, gardens, and other green spaces can exacerbate what experts cited by Reuters call the “urban heat island effect,” in which natural land cover is replaced with dense concentrations of pavement, buildings, and other heat-absorbing and heat-retaining surfaces. Urban heat islands increase the likelihood of heat related illness, something that will only be exacerbated as heat waves become more frequent with climate change.

SPEAKING OF TREES- Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest increased in July, breaking a 15-month decline achieved under President Lula da Silva, Reuters reported last week citing data from the country’s Environment and Science ministries. Approximately 666 sqm of jungle were cleared, a 33% rise compared to the same month last year. The increase is attributed to a strike by environmental workers, climate change-induced droughts and fires, and the municipal election year, which typically sees higher deforestation rates. This makes the goal to end deforestation by 2030 — pledged by Lula’s administration — more difficult to achieve.

About the strike: The environmental workers’ strike, which began in June demanding better wages and working conditions for environmental workers, has severely impacted the enforcement of laws against deforestation, the report added. The number of environmental fines issued by the main federal environmental enforcement agency fell by 63% for the year up to August 6.

THE SCORECARD-

The Saudi electric car market is expected to grow 6% annually until 2030, Aleqtisadiah quotes Lucid Group COO Mark Winterhoff as saying. EV sales in the Kingdom are projected to reach between 210k-250k by that year, and is in line with the government’s target to produce 500k vehicles per year with USD 50 bn in investments. The broader Middle East electric car market is forecasted to expand to USD 8 bn by 2028, up from its current USD 2.7 bn.

THE ENTERPRISE FINANCE FORUM-

Are you planning to be in Egypt on 24 September? You may be interested in attending our 2024 Enterprise Finance Forum. Seating is strictly limited at our flagship, invitation-only forum for C-suite executives and other senior leaders.

Why attend? We’re in the early days of a generational realignment of power in our industry — in our region and beyond — and on the cusp of the biggest intergenerational transfer of wealth the world has ever seen. With that as the backdrop, we’re going to take stock of where we stand six months after the float of the EGP and ask what’s next for finance in Egypt and the wider region. Among the questions we’ll be asking:

• What roles will Egypt, Saudi and the UAE play in the regional industry going forward?
• What are foreign investors looking for right now?
• Is real estate the only asset class in Egypt?
• What does the next generation of leaders think as they take over established family businesses?

Do you want to request an invitation? Tap or click the image below.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE will host the World ESG Summit from Tuesday, 20 August to Wednesday, 21 August in Dubai. The summit will gather experts and industry leaders to explore new ways to integrate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into business practices.

Turkey will host the International Conference on Clean and Green Energy Engineering from Saturday, 24 August to Monday, 26 August in Izmir. The event will gather researchers and professionals to share advances in clean energy. It will also offer a platform to discuss the latest research, practices, and applications in clean and green energy engineering.

The UAE will host the World Utilities Congress from Monday, 16 September to Wednesday, 18 September in Abu Dhabi. The event will gather global energy leaders, policymakers, innovators, and industry professionals from the power and water utilities value chain to discuss industry trends and challenges.

Saudi Arabia will host the EV Auto Show from Tuesday, 17 September to Thursday, 19 September in Riyadh. The show offers a platform for participants to learn about the latest EV technologies and services.

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