The Ministry of Planning, Monitoring, and Administrative Reform signed a tripartite cooperation protocol on Saturday with Qalaa Holding, and Nile University, to maximize the renewable energy sector, through cooperation between the public and private sector. The protocol was signed by Osama Madi, head of the Central Administration for Financial and Administrative Affairs, representing the Ministry of Planning, Heba La­bib, head of Innovation Sector, Nile University, Qalaa head of Marketing Communications, and CMO, Gha­da Hammouda in the presence of Nada Massoud, advisor to the min­ister of planning for economic affairs. The Minister of Planning, Monitor­ing, and Administrative Reform, Hala Al-Saeed, said that the signing of the protocol came within the framework of the ministry’s efforts to imple­ment the “Sustainable Development Strategy: Egypt Vision 2030” goals to maximize the renewable energy sec­tor’s share in energy production, and achieve energy security, through the participation of the private sector. Furthermore, Hammouda emphasized the importance of cooperation between the public and private sec­tors in order to achieve sustainable development. Egypt aims to diversify its energymix by increasing reliance on renew­able energy, especially wind and solar energy, by increasing the contribution of solar energy from the current 8% to 16%, wind energy from the present 1% to 14%. Qalaa Holdings Chairperson and Founder, Ahmed Heikal, explained the size and diversity of the company’s in­vestments in the energy sector such as the Egyptian Refining Company with investments of $4.3bn, which is the largest project implemented in cooperation between the public and private sectors, as well as the con­tribution of TAQA Arabia, one of its subsidiary companies in the construc­tion of a solar power plant capacity of 50MW in the Benban solar power complex in Aswan. Moreover, Hisham El-Khazindar, co-founder and managing director of Qalaa Holdings, said that the compa­ny’s management has taken a decision over the years to focus on a number of key sectors that are of strategic importance, rather than maintaining a portfolio of large projects represent­ing many sectors. El-Khazindar expressed his pride in participating in the preparation of the research study, which is expected to play a key role in the development of the renewable energy sector in Egypt during the coming period   Source:  https://dailynewsegypt.com/2019/01/19/ministry-of-planning-qalaa-holdings-nile-university-sign-protocol-to-boost-renewable-energy-production/

Egypt signed an agreement on Friday with JST, a leading Korean company in the field of solid waste conversion technology to alternative fuels, to create waste recycling plants to produce alternative fuels instead of coal for cement plant furnaces. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Minister of State for Military Production Mohammed al-Assar. The agreement is a protocol of cooperation between the National Organization for Military Production and the Korean company. The Executive Director of JST stressed the importance of cooperation with the military production companies due to the quality and excellence of its products according to international quality standards. He added that the availability of technological capabilities and qualified human cadres, and the Ministry’s participation in many developmental and national projects currently being witnessed in Egypt, is what made his company cooperate with the Ministry. He said that he is confident that this cooperation would be successful in implementing projects that would benefit both sides in the field of waste recycling and access to renewable energy sources. The ministry said in a statement that this cooperation comes within the framework of its strategy of working with international companies to transfer modern technologies to Egypt.   Source:　https://www.arabfinance.com/en/news/details/egypt-economy/470882

Egypt signed a deal with Saudi Arabian utility developer ACWA Power on Thursday to build a $2.3 billion power plant in the country’s south, the Egyptian electricity minister said. The plant, which will have a capacity of 2,250 megawatts (MW), will be built in Luxor province, the minister, Mohamed Shaker, told a news conference. He said the facility is expected to be operational by 2023 at the latest. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi opened three new power stations in July built at a total cost of 6 billion euros ($7 billion) as part of the country’s plans to plug a gap in power generation and fuel its development drive. Acute power shortages in the years immediately following Egypt’s 2011 uprising led to frequent summer blackouts and cuts to industrial output. The new projects initiated in 2015 are part of an 8 billion euro deal to boost electricity generation by 50 percent through new gas and wind power plants.    Source: https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKCN1N65CM-OZABS

Egypt’s natural gas output is expected to reach 8 billion cubic feet per day during the fiscal year 2019/2020, after the completion and operation of developmental gas field projects nationwide, the petroleum minister has said. In a press statement released on Saturday, Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla said that the forecasted “unprecedented production is a direct result to the successful strategy of the ministry anchored by political and economic stability in the country.” He added that the success in security, the strategic needs of natural gas, and the accomplishments made in gas field discoveries and petroleum and gas production has contributed in sustaining the power supply to the local market and economic and production fields.  Saturday's figure comes a few months after officials said that the country’s natural gas output had risen to 6.6 billion cubic feet per day after an increase in production at its mammoth Zohr offshore gas field. Egypt aims to become a regional gas hub for the trade of liquefied natural gas through major gas discoveries in recent years, including the Zohr gas field, which holds an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas.  It has announced plans to start exporting gas in 2019 through output from other newly discovered gas fields.  Egypt said it achieved self-sufficiency in natural gas consumption in September last year due to the gradual increase in local production and the plan to develop major gas fields in the Mediterranean.    Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/322430/Business/Economy/Egypt-gas-output-expected-to-reach--billion-cubic-.aspx

A draft law covering Spain’s approach to climate change and the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy is expected to reach Congress before the year is out. But the Ministry for Environmental Transition has already informed the country’s political parties of some of the key elements of this legislation. And among the proposals is a 2040 ban on the sale of all vehicles that use fossil fuels, whether they be powered by gasoline, diesel or natural gas. What’s more, in 2050 the government hopes to be working with local councils to prohibit the circulation of such vehicles, and is also proposing the obligatory installation of electric charging points in gas stations. Transportation in Spain – and in most of the European Union – is the straggler when it comes to the fight against climate change. While the use of renewable energy continues to grow in the power sector – with a realistic target of 100% of electricity coming from clean sources in the future – road transportation is not progressing at the same speed in the fight against climate change. Just over a quarter of all greenhouse gases emitted in Spain are from the transportation sector, and most of those come from the roads. Forecasts from the government suggest that if measures are not taken, these emissions will grow 15% from here to 2030. In the draft text presented on Tuesday, the 2040 ban on “passenger and light commercial vehicles with direct emissions of carbon dioxide” would also mean an end to the sale of hybrids, which also burn gasoline or diesel. This kind of veto has already been announced in other EU countries, such as the United Kingdom and France, which have also set a target date of 2040, and Denmark, Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands, which have set a date of 2030. The ministry’s proposal also includes measures that would see municipalities with more than 50,000 people have low-emission zones installed “no later than 2023.” The law, which also sets a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (compared to 1990 levels) will have to be negotiated in Congress, and given that the Socialist Party (PSOE) is governing in a minority, the process may take a long time as the government seeks cross-party support. The PSOE and the left-wing anti-austerity party Podemos have already created a work group in Congress, and the rest of the political parties received the draft document several days ago. The ministry claims that its objectives are very ambitious and go further than what has been demanded by the European Commission (EC). Among the measures in the draft is a plan to ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a controversial process used to extract oil and gas from the ground by fracturing rock using pressurized liquid. What’s more, once the law comes into force the government will no longer issue new permissions for the prospecting and exploitation of hydrocarbons, neither on land nor at sea. Current licenses will not be valid from 2040 onward. The climate change law will be completed with the so-called Energy and Climate Plan, which Spain will have to present to Brussels in December. This plan will set out the energy sources that the country will count on over the next decade. For example, whether it will count on coal, nuclear or natural gas for its energy needs. This document is still being drawn up, but in the draft climate change law there are measures to encourage the use of renewables. Between 2020 and 2030, a total of 3,000 megawatts will have to be installed every year. Currently, the country counts on 48,000 megawatts, and in 2017 this clean technology generated 32% of all the electricity in Spain.     Source: El Pais https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/11/13/inenglish/1542118484_563478.html

Bangladesh, with its deficiency in energy and infrastructure, has offered huge opportunities to Singapore to invest in the country's power and logistics sectors, officials said on Monday. "Earlier our target was to increase the power generation capacity to 23,000 megawatts by the year 2021. Recently we have revised the target to 28,000 megawatts to meet the increasing demand", Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority Kazi M Aminul Islam said at a function in the capital. "Such a scenario offers a lot of opportunities to the Singaporean investors to invest in the country's power sector", Mr Islam said while speaking to a high-level delegation of the Singapore Business Federation currently visiting the city.   Noting that the Singaporean companies are mostly looking to invest in small and medium- sized power plants in Bangladesh, he also said these companies can think of investing in big power projects as well. The Singaporean investors, present on the occasion, also complained about prevailing gas shortage in the country. They said many of them face difficulties in getting gas connections from the relevant authority. Replying to this observation, the BIDA Chairman said the prevailing energy crunch will eased by the year 2019 with the establishment of three Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals. "Once the energy shortage is solved, our next focus will be on strengthening of our trade logistics facilities", Mr Islam said. "And this is another area where Singapore can invest a lot given its rich experience and strength in this particular field", he added. Business people present at the event also pointed out that the facilities at the Chittagong port are not up to the mark.    "Quality infrastructure is essential for trade facilitation. The efficiency of Chittagong Port has to be raised", Mr Islam, who is also a former Secretary to the government, said. "However, a lot of improvements will take place in this regard when the Payra port becomes operational", he added. Earlier, a detailed presentation on the present investment scenario and further investment scopes in Bangladesh was delivered by BIDA officials. The keynote presentation found that although most of the investment in Bangladesh is coming to telecommunication, textiles, banking and power sector, there are scopes for more foreign investment in energy, ICT and pharmaceuticals.      The presentation found that apart from the country's young, dynamic workforce, Bangladesh's strategic location can give the foreign investors access to a market of 3 billion people living in the surrounding region. "Gas and petroleum are the two best sectors to invest in Bangladesh due to the incentives given by the government in these areas", said Asif Ibrahim, Vice Chairman of Newage Group. "Meanwhile, there is also a scope for joint collaboration in energy efficiency and information technology between Bangladesh and Singapore", Mr Ibrahim, who is a former President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said.  

A consortium of five Chinese banks offered to invest US$1.8 billion in developing a 1320mw coal-fired power plant in seaside Banskhali Upazila in Bangladesh's southeastern Chittagong district.   Senior officials of the Chinese banks expressed their willingness to put their funds in the joint venture (JV) power project at a meeting held at the Bangladesh Bank headquarters in Dhaka Monday with BB Governor Fazle Kabir in the chair. The officials sought policy supports from the country's central bank in this connection, meeting sources said. At the meeting, the delegates of the Chinese banks showed interest in transfer of their funds directly to the borrower without opening any account with bank/banks operating in Bangladesh. The officials were also interested to know about effective interest rates and the opening of offshore account, they added. "We'll convey our decisions on the issues after examining the Chinese bankers' proposals," SK Sur Chowdhury, deputy governor of BB, told the FE after the parley. Terming China a tested friend, the deputy governor said the central bank may extend all kinds of support in line with the existing rules and regulations to encourage foreign direct investment (FDI). "We need huge investments from both domestic and overseas sources for achieving maximum economic growth," Mr. Sur Chowdhury said, without elaborating. Present at the meeting among others were senior officials of China Export & Credit Insurance and high-ups of SS Power Limited. A joint-venture company (JVC) comprising Bangladesh's S Alam Group and Chinese SEPCO-3 Electric Power Constitution Corporation and HTG Group is now working to develop the power plant that costs $2.5 billion. Earlier on February 16 last year, a signing ceremony on project agreements between the Power Division, Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) and SS Power-1 Ltd and SS Power-2 Ltd took place at Bidyut Bhaban in Dhaka. The government had picked SS Power-1 Ltd for the construction of first unit through a tender process while SS Power-2 Ltd was given an unsolicited deal to construct the second unit under the Power and Energy Quick Supply Act 2015. Under the deals, the government will buy electricity from these plants at 8.259 US cents/kWh (levellized tariff). The power project is scheduled to go into commercial production by November 2019. "We've already started development works of the project," a company official told the FE. He also said around 150 people are now working on the project. About 7,000 people will be employed in the project in the first five years, the official added. "Some 1,000 people will be directly employed permanently after completion of the project while another 6,000 will get indirect employment," he said to explain the benefits to be accrued from the major power project.

Power Division has issued an official order to all the six power distribution utilities of the country, asking each of them to purchase rooftop solar power from at least 20 consumers within next three months under net metering system, reports UNB. The six distribution utilities are power Development Board (PDB), Rural Electrification Board (REB), Dhaka Power Distribution Company Ltd (DPDC), Dhaka Electric Supply Company (Desco), West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd. (WZPDC) and North West Zone Power Distribution Company Limited (Nesco). According to official sources, the Power Division's renewable energy desk issued the order last week. "We have already received the Power Division order and started planning to implement it," WZPDC managing director Md Shafique Uddin told the news agency. He noted that now NWPDC will find out 20 potential consumers from within its command area in the next three months. On July 28, the Power Division unveiled "Net Metering Guideline 2018" in order to buy rooftop solar power from consumers. Under the proposed system, any consumer can set up rooftop solar system covering up to 70 per cent capacity of the sanctioned load and sell the additional or unconsumed solar power after meeting his/her demand through an exchange arrangement by a special meter. The idea is that the consumers will use their own solar power alongside the grid. But on holidays when solar power is not used, the consumers can sell it to the national grid. Even, on the working days, they can preserve their solar power to grid and sell it to his power supplying company or take it back for its own consumptions. After end of the month, bills will be adjusted on the basis of consumption and sale of solar power to the utilities and the consumer will get payment from the distribution company at bulk rate if his sale overruns the consumption. Unveiling this guideline, Power Secretary Dr Ahmed Kaikaus announced that each of the distribution companies must buy solar power from at least 20 consumers. It will be treated as a key target under their annual performance agreement (APA) signed with the ministry. Power Cell Director Md Abdur Rouf, who was involved in framing the guideline, said there is no lower limit of a consumer's solar capacity. But the upper limit of the capacity is three megawatt. He said the order on rooftop solar came as a follow-up of the Power Division's decision to buy rooftop solar power as part of its move to promote renewable energy across the country. Power Cell officials believe the government will be able to buy about 10-12 MW power from rooftop consumers as many large consumers like industries, apartment complex, shopping malls and hotels have already set up rooftop solar power plants for their own consumptions as part of the government policy.