Good morning, friends. We have a packed issue this morning with updates on green hydrogen projects in Egypt and Oman along with a smattering of green finance and debt news updates from around the region. Let’s dive right in.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The International Conference on Sand and Dust Storms in the Arabian Peninsula will open its doors today in Riyadh and run through to Wednesday. The conference will address regional challenges caused by sand and dust storms and discuss monitoring systems, mitigation strategies, economic and infrastructural impacts, and more.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- KSA’s Masco Group to build 60 MW solar plant in Republika Srpska: Prime Minister of the Republika Srpska — the Serbian entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina — Radovan Višković has inked an MoU with Saudi Arabian general contractor Masco Group for the development of a EUR 70 mn, 60 MW solar plant in Bijeljina city, Sarajevo Times reported Saturday. The project will be built on property owned by Srpska’s Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Masco Group already has projects in the pipeline: The company currently has a hydrogen extraction facility underway in Srpska, Sarajevo Times writes. The Serbian entity is also looking to collaborate with Masco Group on road infrastructure projects and the use of hydrogen as a fuel for heavy machinery.

#2- Amea Power kicks off FEED works for green ammonia plant in Egypt: UAE renewables company Amea Power has started to conduct front end engineering design (FEED) works for its green hydrogen-based ammonia production facility in Ain Sokhna, Meed reported Thursday. The company also tapped an unnamed engineering procurement and construction (EPC) company to begin construction schemes, the company's project development manager Ignacio Carreras told Meed, adding that Amea Power is currently working with a hydrogen electrolyzer and ammonia licensor. The UAE company aims to reach a financial investment decision by the first quarter of 2026.

The project has been in the works since 2022: Feasibilitystudies for the project were recently finalized last year. Amea first signed an agreement with the Egyptian government to set up a 1 GW green hydrogen plant — expected to be up and running by 2027 — on the sidelines of COP27. The company doubled the intended green ammonia production capacity of the project in November to 800k tons per year — up from the initial 390k tonnes a year, Meed writes. The proposed project also includes the development of 2 GW of renewables to power the 1 GW hydrogen plan.

#3- Egypt’s Golden Coast eyes EGP 7 bn green sukuk issuance in 1H 2024: EGX-listed hospitality and real estate company Golden Coast Company — subsidiary of Golden Pyramids Plaza — has hired S&P to conduct a credit rating evaluation for its upcoming EGP 7 bn green sukuk issuance planned for 1H 2024, Daily News Egypt reported Saturday, citing sources it says have knowledge of the matter. The funds raised from the issuance will be used to finance Golden Coast’s Soma Bay resort project. Al Ahly Pharos is serving as financial advisor and promoter of the issuance, while Al-Derini and Co. is acting as the legal advisor. The real estate firm was initially looking to raise EGP 8 bn through the green sukuk back in August.

#4- Germany’s Siemens Energy has secured a EUR 4 bn revolving credit facility to help finance its struggling Gamesa wind-turbine unit, Bloomberg reported Thursday. The five-year sustainability-linked loan is backed by a consortium of 26 banks and can be extended twice for an additional year. Siemens Gamesa is a major player in Egypt’s wind energy sector.

Siemens Energy is working to bolster its failing business in wind power: The company reviewed its struggling wind business in November after its subsidiary Siemens Gamesa caused EUR 4.6 bn in annual net losses for the group on the back of a substantial increase in failure rates for the turbines' components. It secured a EUR 12 bn credit line from private banks at the time — partly backed by the German government — alleviating investor concerns and a potential company shut down.

#5- CBAM faces early challenges: The European Union's carbon border adjustmentmechanism (CBAM) — set to tax CO2-heavy products from 2026 — is facing its first administrative hurdles with only a small number of companies able to successfully meet the early reporting deadline for carbon-intensive imports, The Financial Times wrote on Friday. Nearly 13k reports were submitted by the end of February, primarily concerning imports from China.

Low compliance rates: Less than 10% of German companies and 11% of Swedish companies were able to meet the deadline for reporting on their imports, the FT adds. EU officials stated that the issue is due to the measures being nascent and the ongoing transitional period, adding that proposals are underway to simplify the system.

There are some vocal critics: Green trade rules are “biased” against developing nations, India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told the Financial Times on Thursday, referring to CBAM. Goyal said trade and the environment “are two separate issues,” stating that the relevant UN institutions “should be respected” and “allowed to do their job” when it comes to addressing climate change. “Before we add new environmental issues, let’s first sort out who is responsible for the environmental degradation,” Goyal said, adding that India, which accounts for 17% of the world’s population, produces only 3% of the world’s emissions.

DANGER ZONE-

Global waste production will likely rise by two-thirds by 2050 causing USD 640.3 bn in environmental and economic damage, according to a new report (pdf) by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Municipal solid waste output alone will increase from 2.3 bn tons in 2023 to 3.8 bn tons by 2050. Launching initiatives aimed at limiting the waste problem could reduce the projected 2050 net annual costs to USD 270.2 bn and adopting a circular economy model could remove costs altogether, and instead create net gains of USD 108.5 bn per year. “Waste generation is intrinsically tied to GDP, and many fast-growing economies are struggling under the burden of rapid waste growth,” said Inger Andersen, UNEP’s Executive Director.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE will host the World Future Energy Summit from Tuesday, 16 April to Thursday, 18 April in Abu Dhabi. The summit will address solutions for development in the transformation of future energy systems. The summit will also feature discussions on recycling, waste-to-energy, and air-to-water trends and progressions.

The UAE will host the Connecting Green Hydrogen MENA event from Tuesday, 23 April to Thursday, 25 April in Dubai. The event will explore green hydrogen partnerships, policies, and practices in the region, in parallel to a showcasing of the latest in the clean fuel’s technology.

Oman will host the Oman Sustainability Week from Sunday, 28 April to Thursday, 2 May in Muscat. The event will focus on exploring investment opportunities and implementing best practices in sustainability within the energy, water, and environmental sectors.

The UAE will host The Electric Vehicle Innovation Summit from Monday, 20 May to Wednesday, 22 May in Abu Dhabi. The event will see industry leaders come together to discuss sustainable mobility and tapping into groundbreaking advancements in electric vehicles while engaging with key decision-makers.

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

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