Good morning, ladies and gentlemen — and a very Merry Christmas to all those observing or otherwise celebrating today.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- Acwa Power signed a new agreement with Uzbekistan’s government to develop a hybrid 800 MW renewable energy and integrated green hydrogen project.
^^ We have the details on this story and more in the news well, below.
THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- US engine maker Cummins agrees to pay record USD 1.7 bn emissions cheating fine: US truck engine manufacturer Cummins has agreed in principle to pay the highest ever civil penalty for a US Clean Air Act violation — over USD 1.67 bn — to settle claims it skirted emissions rules and installed “defeat devices” in hundreds of thousands of engines that bypassed emissions control sensors, according to a statement by the Department of Justice (DoJ). The DoJ alleges Cummins used defeat devices across 960k RAM 2.5k and 3.5k pickup trucks, releasing thousands of tons of nitrous oxide and affecting pollution vulnerable communities residing near highways. Cummins, which has denied the allegations, has recalled the 960k vehicles, and says it expects to take a nearly USD 2.04 bn charge in 4Q to resolve regulatory claims from the Justice Department and California Air Resources Board. Cummins shares were down 2.3% on Friday on news of the preliminary settlement agreement.
The story made headlines in the international press:The New York Times | The Wall Street Journal | Reuters | CBS News | ABC News | AP News | The Washington Post
Morocco gets USD 500 mn loan from the World Bank to mitigate climate risks:The World Bank has approved a USD 500 mn loan to Morocco aimed at enhancing institutional frameworks for disaster and climate risk management, in efforts to create insurance mechanisms that protect farmers impacted by climate change, especially droughts, according to a press release. The loan marks the second of three operations under the government's Strengthening Human Capital for a Resilient Morocco reform program, an initiative which works on mitigating health risks and poverty in precarious communities, partially through improving climate resilience and management.
Morocco has been facing a dangerous drought for years: 2023 marked the fifth consecutive year Morocco has been facing an intense drought, driven and exacerbated by climate change. Morocco saw its reservoir capacity drop to 23.55% this year (3.8 bn cubic meters), down from 29.8% (4.88 bn cubic meters) in 2022.
WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Acwa Power begins studies on its recently secured multi-bn Egypt green hydrogen plant: KSA renewable energy giant Acwa Power launched the technical studies phase of the first stage of its planned multi USD bn, two-phase green hydrogen production facility in Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) on Thursday, the company’s Regional Manager for Egypt Hassan Amin told Al Dostor last week. The start of the technical studies came a day after Acwa Power inked an agreement with the Egyptian government to develop the project. The first phase of the project will cost USD 4 bn, and is planned to have a 600k annual green ammonia production capacity.
The expected timeline: Acwa plans to wrap up the technical assessments and reach financial close on the first phase of the project by 1Q 2025, and expects to secure financing for an associated 1.1 GW wind farm that will help power the plant by 1H 2024, Amin noted. Details on the feasibility and technical studies for the second phase of the project — planned to expand the plant’s output by another 2 mn tons — were not disclosed.
WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Vitol delivers biofuel to UAE: Swiss-based energy and commodity trading company Vitol’s maritime fuel provider, Vitol Bunkers, completed its first biofuel delivery in the UAE, according to a statement published last week. Vitol Bunkers delivered B24 — a blend of used cooking oil and low-sulfur content fuel oil — to two vessels on December 8 and December 14, the statement added. The fuel was sourced from Vitol's UAE-based refinery FRL in Fujairah, and blended with locally sourced biofuel at VTTI storage facilities.
UAE is going all out on biofuels: On the sidelines of COP earlier this month, Emirati logistics giant DP World inked an agreement with Singapore-based shipping company Pacific International Lines to develop green solutions for global supply chains including powering vessels using biofuel blends.In November, UAE's Adnoc Distribution said it is planning to supply biofuel to its business-to-business (B2B) customers.
WATCH THIS SPACE #3- The construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is now 94% complete, and is set to be fully finalized by September 2024, Ahram Online reported last week, citing comments made by Ethiopia's ambassador to the US and chief negotiator on GERD Sileshi Bekele. The scomes after the fourth and final round of talks between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia on GERD ended in deadlock on Tuesday. Egypt has criticized what it called Ethiopia's consistent backtracking on agreed-upon understandings and its four unilateral fillings of the dam's reservoir.
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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-
Qatar will host The International Conference on Smart Grid and Renewable Energy is kicking off Tuesday, 9 January through to Friday, 12 January in Doha. The conference will explore the importance of the smart grid and renewable energy resources and the viability of various related technologies. It will also host discussions on power electronics, controls, manufacturing, communications and computational intelligence.
Saudi Arabia will host the Future Minerals Forum from Tuesday, 9 January through to Thursday, 11 January in Riyadh. The event will bring nations and private sectors together to enable the creation of resilient mineral value chains in the resource rich regions of Africa, Western Asia, and Central Asia. The forum will hold a ministerial roundtable with over 60 countries being represented., and delegates will discuss global critical mineral strategies as well as an international exhibition with over 150 exhibitors and industry sponsors.
The UAE will host the Management and Sustainability of Water Resources Conference from Monday, 26 February to Wednesday 28 February in Dubai.The conference is set to address the importance of water resources availability in arid and semiarid regions and to discuss global water issues and address future water and environmental challenges.
Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.


