Good morning, friends. It’s quiet on the climate industry front as people slowly head back into the office this week but we have some news from across the region trickling in.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- The Saudi Water Partnership Company has tapped a regional consortium led by Abu Dhabi’s National Energy Company Taqa to develop the SAR 1.5 bn Juranah Independent Strategic Water Reservoir Project under a build, own, operate, transfer agreement.

^^ We have the details on this story and more in the news well, below.

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- BYD steals Tesla’s crown: Chinese automaker BYD saw a significant surge in 4Q sales allowing it to boot EV giant Tesla from the top spot on industry leaderboards for the first time. BYD sold a record 526k vehicles in 4Q alone, with sales rising 70% in December. Meanwhile, Tesla delivered 484k in 4Q — more than the 473k vehicles expected by analysts — but it still wasn’t enough for Elon Musk’s company to keep leading the EV pack.

Not everyone is rooting for China: The US imposed new EV battery sourcing rules on Monday in a bid to move the country’s EV supply chain away from China, Reuters reports. Only 19 EV models now qualify for EV tax credits, down from 43. Vehicles including the Nissan Leaf, Tesla Cybertruck All-Wheel Drive, some Tesla Model 3s and Chevrolet Blazer EV lost eligibility for tax credits worth up to USD 7.5k.

The story grabbed wide coverage in the international press: Reuters | AP News | | The Financial Times | Bloomberg | The Wall Street Journal | The New York Times | The Washington Post | BBC | TheGuardian | CNN | CNBC

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Kuwait opens tender for Shagaya 3 power plant: The KuwaitAuthority for Partnership Projects opened a tender for the design and construction of the 1.1 GW Shagaya 3 solar power plant, Kuwaiti news outlet Alanba reports. The contract will cover design, funding, construction, operation, and maintenance services for the project, which will sell generated electricity to the Kuwaiti Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy Ministry under a 30-year power purchase agreement. The project will span 84 sqm roughly 100 km west of Kuwait City, and will comprise multiple renewable technologies and grid infrastructure, according to Zawya.

#2- Progress on Iraq’s first waste-to-energy project: Baghdad’s public works authority Amanat Baghdad approved recommendations by the country’s National Investment Commission and Electricity and Environment Ministries to build the country’s first waste-to-energy (WtE) generation plant in the Iraqi capital, the Iraqi News Agency reports. The government has not yet set a targeted generation capacity for the project, but notes it has potential to generate 1 MW of clean power from just 40 tons of biowaste. Baghdad currently produces around 9.5k tons of waste daily, and the NIC began inviting potential investments to the WtE project in Rusafa back in October.

Next steps: The cabinet says it will move forward with studies on the project in 1Q, including on marketing ramp up strategies in a bid to attract qualified global developers. Iraq has said it plans to invite more companies to set up clean energy projects in efforts to expand its low-carbon power capacity to a third of its energy mix by 2030.

#3- KSA's PIF was 2023's biggest state-owned investor: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund (PIF) was 2023’s biggest spender among global state-owned investors with total investments in green assets reaching USD 26.1 bn — up from USD 18.7 bn in 2022, Reuters reports, citing a report by Global SWF. The PIF invested a total of USD 31.5 bn in various sectors, including sports, gaming, aviation, and steelmaking as part of its plan to diversify Saudi Arabia's economy. PIF and other sovereign wealth funds also increased their spending on the energy transition, including on green technologies such as renewable energy, hydrogen, and electric vehicles.

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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 smart grid and renewable energy resources and related technologies. Look for discussion of 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 focus on resource-rich regions of Africa, Western Asia, and Central Asia and will include a ministerial roundtable with over 60 countries being represented. A parallel exhibition will have some 150 exhibitors and industry sponsors on site.

The UAE will host the Management and Sustainability of Water Resources Conference from Monday, 26 February to Wednesday 28 February in Dubai. Water availability in arid and semiarid regions, global water issues, and future water and environmental challenges are all on the agenda.

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