{"id":79043,"date":"2023-08-21T01:00:38","date_gmt":"2023-08-21T01:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2023\/08\/21\/today-oci-global-completes-its-first-green-methanol-refueling-operation-in-egypt\/"},"modified":"2023-08-21T01:00:38","modified_gmt":"2023-08-21T01:00:38","slug":"today-oci-global-completes-its-first-green-methanol-refueling-operation-in-egypt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2023\/08\/21\/today-oci-global-completes-its-first-green-methanol-refueling-operation-in-egypt\/","title":{"rendered":"TODAY: OCI Global completes its first green methanol refueling operation in Egypt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, nice people. <\/strong>We have a hefty issue this morning to kick off the week with lots of climate industry updates from across the region. Let\u2019s jump in.<\/p>\n

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY- <\/strong>Dutch-based chemical producer OCI Global completed a six-hour operation refueling the world\u2019s first green-methanol-powered container ship with 500 tons of the green fuel in Egypt\u2019s East Port Said.<\/p>\n

^^ We have more details on this story and much more in the news well, below.<\/strong><\/p>\n

THE BIG CLIMATE STORY OUTSIDE THE REGION- Climate change-linked wildfires still <\/strong>spreading everywhere<\/strong>: A wildfire on Spain\u2019s Tenerife island that forced mass evacuations remained uncontrollable yesterday despite improved weather conditions overnight. The fire was now impacting ten towns in the island located at the Canary Islands, although 11 have been evacuated as a precaution in what officials have described as the worst in Tenerife in decades. It now covers an area of over 8k hectares with a perimeter of 70 km, up from 5k hectares and a perimeter of 50km a day earlier. Some 12k residents have been evacuated, according to regional authorities. Canary Islands regional President Fernando Clavijo said authorities have confirmed that the wildfire was started deliberately, but did not provide further details.<\/p>\n

ALSO- Evacuations are still ongoing as wildfires rage in Canada\u2019s western province of <\/strong>British Columbia<\/strong>, Reuters<\/a> reports. Over 35k residents were under an evacuation order with 30k under an evacuation alert. Record high temperatures this year on the back of worsening climate change have contributed to unusual raging and prolonging wildfires in Europe and elsewhere, including a deadly wildfire on Hawaii\u2019s Maui island that killed over 110 people earlier this month.<\/p>\n

The severe blazes is getting ink from the international press over the weekend: <\/strong>Reuters<\/a> | Bloomberg<\/a> | The Associated Press<\/a> | The Washington Post<\/a> | The Guardian<\/a><\/p>\n

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OVER IN COPLAND- <\/strong>More climate finance for Africa is the only way to go: <\/strong>COP28 President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber stressed the necessity of scaling up financing to African nations to help them meet climate goals, Wam<\/a> reported on Thursday. Speaking at the Ethiopian-hosted African Ministerial Conference of the Environment, Al Jaber said that Africa remains among the regions most impacted by climate change. \"From Pakistan to Hawaii, we have seen too many lives and livelihoods devastated. Yet, Africa has been facing extreme climate conditions with greater impacts for longer than most,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Africa faces a \u201cchronic\u201d lack of funding:<\/strong> Al Jaber also highlighted the \u201cchronic lack of available, accessible and affordable climate finance\u201d in the continent, describing it as a significant obstacle hindering progress on climate action in Africa. \"Currently, barely one tenth of global climate finance finds its way to Africa. According to the African Development Bank, almost USD 250 bn annually is needed to meet Africa\u2019s NDC commitments through 2030. Yet, this continent of 54 countries that contributes less than 5% of global emissions, receives less than USD 30 bn a year. And private finance flows to Africa are a fraction of what is disbursed to the rest of the world. These are the realities. They need to be fixed. And they need to be fixed now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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WATCH THIS SPACE #1-<\/strong> EBRD and Egypt work on improving regulation for private sector <\/strong>power producers: <\/strong>The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is advising the Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency (Egyptera) on opening the local electricity market to the private sector, according to a statement<\/a> released on Thursday. Funded by a grant, the multilateral lender is working with Egyptera to improve its regulatory framework to promote a more competitive market and increase the private sector\u2019s role in producing, distributing and selling power, it said.<\/p>\n

Why this matters:<\/strong> Private-sector players have long been asking for the ability to use Egypt\u2019s electricity grid to transmit electricity to their end clients by \u201cwheeling\u201d \u2014 to effectively \u201crent\u201d the state\u2019s grid: Use it, for a fee, to deliver green electricity directly to their end clients. Developers operating solar and wind facilities currently generate electricity and sell it to the state under a long-term offtake agreement. Read more about this here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Masdar eyeing a solar expansion in Iraq:<\/strong> UAE renewables giant Masdar is planning to establish at least four solar energy plants in Iraq\u2019s Maysan, Dhi Qar, Anbar, and Kirkuk governorates, Iraqi News<\/a> reported following a meeting between Iraq\u2019s Electricity Minister Ziyad Ali Fadel and a Masdar delegation last week. The generation capacities of the planned solar farms was not disclosed, nor was the expected investment ticket for the projects. Iraq has a target to generate 5 GW<\/a> of solar power in 2023 and signed solar power agreements over the past two years with several companies, lining up a total generation capacity of 7.5 GW.<\/p>\n

ALSO<\/strong>- Masdar has big EU expansion plans: <\/strong>The company plans to deploy up to 5 GW in wind energy capacity and battery storage volume by 2030 through its newly acquired renewables and BESS arm Masdar Arlington<\/a>, the company\u2019s CEO Matthew Clare said in an interview with Energy Voice<\/a> last week. Masdar has several transactions at an \u201cadvanced stage\u201d totalling 5 GW for offshore wind energy projects, and plans to add 3-5 GW in battery storage capacity over the next five to seven years. Masdar acquired UK energy storage firm Arlington Energy<\/a> in January, and later in March committed to investing GBP 1 bn<\/a> to develop UK battery energy storage system (BESS) tech. The acquisition falls under Masdar\u2019s target to increase its BESS and renewables foothold in Europe.<\/p>\n

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WATCH THIS SPACE<\/strong> #3- Ewec\u2019s 3Q clean energy certificates auction is open:<\/strong> The Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec) has opened registration for its 3Q clean energy certificates<\/a> (CEC) auction, Wam<\/a>reported on Thursday. CECs are tradeable digital certificates that verify the sources of consumed electricity to ensure reliance on clean energy. The certificates are in units of 1 MWh each, and are currently the only mechanism in Abu Dhabi guaranteeing clean energy utilization.<\/p>\n

The last auction held a record: <\/strong>Ewec made its biggest single sale<\/a> of CECs to UAE\u2019s digital infrastructure developer Two Zero<\/a> last May, selling 7.3 mn MWh of clean energy. The price of the purchase agreement was not disclosed.<\/p>\n

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NON-CLIMATE REGIONAL HEADLINES OVER THE WEEKEND:<\/strong><\/p>\n