Hira Walraven Signs Solar Contract With Dubai’s Yellow Door Energy
Yellow Door Energy, a UAE-based sustainable energy provider for businesses, has been awarded a solar contract with Hira Walraven AC LLC (“Hira Walraven”), a Dutch and UAE joint venture for construction material and piping systems, for its facility in National Industries Park in Dubai, UAE. The 524 kilowatt-peak rooftop solar plant is expected to generate more than 850,000 kilowatt-hours of clean energy in its first year of operation, equivalent to reducing 360,000 kilograms of carbon emissions or planting 9,400 trees. Over 1,100 solar panels will be installed to cover 4,700 square meters of roof space at the facility, meeting over 90% of its energy consumption needs.
IFC Helps Boost CleanTech Start-ups in Egypt, Enables Farmers to Switch to Solar
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is joining forces with the National Bank of Egypt and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA) to strengthen the clean technology entrepreneurship sector and boost Egyptian farmers’ access to finance for solar irrigation. Start-ups make up the bulk of players in the photovoltaic (PV) solar water pumping market in Egypt but are currently unable to scale up because of a lack of payment and finance options for customers, and a limited understanding of the sector. IFC’s specialized team will deliver technical assistance to four financial institutions, including the National Bank of Egypt, and MSMEDA to help develop a financial product for farmers to be able to afford purchase of the pumps and assist with its piloting and roll out. Around 960,000 diesel-powered water pumps are currently used for irrigation across Egypt, at a cost of about $250 million annually for the diesel. Replacing the pumps with PV systems would save farmers money in fuel and maintenance and help create a cleaner environment.
APICORP Provides USD 50 Million Credit Facility to SirajPower for Solar Energy Projects in Middle East
The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), a multilateral development financial institution announced a USD50 million credit facility for SirajPower, the UAE’s leading distributed solar energy provider, to expand its portfolio of distributed solar energy projects across the Middle East. The transaction represents the largest lease-funding platform for distributed solar energy in the GCC. This is a continued realization of APICORP’s vision and strategy to focus on renewables and support the region’s transition towards a sustainable energy future, committing around USD450 million of capital towards renewable projects in the past four years.The transaction will enable SirajPower to deploy its rooftop solar PV turnkey solutions across various industries, allowing the private sector to save on their utility bills while simultaneously offsetting their carbon footprint through an innovative structure to finance an entire portfolio of distributed solar projects on a long-term basis.
Bahrain’s SEA Issues First Renewable Energy Certificate
Bahrain’s Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA) President Dr Abdulhussein bin Ali Mirza has recently announced the issuance of the first Renewable Energy Certificate by the authority. Issued by SEA through a fully electronic system platform, the certificates represent a historic shift in taking advantage of renewable energy in the kingdom, said a Bahrain News Agency report. The certificate is part of the launch of an initial pilot phase through which the programme’s flexibility and application mechanisms are studied at the national level to include all renewable energy systems to be registered in the renewable energy certification programme in stages. The certificates system will provide an opportunity for investors and financing institutions to evaluate investment opportunities, finance sustainable energy projects and verify the energy output, which is produced through reliable and approved programmes and tools.
King Salman Energy Park Completes 60% of Phase One; Secures Major Foreign Direct Investments
The King Salman Energy Park (SPARK) in Saudi has completed 60% of its first phase which consists of infrastructure, roads, utilities, and real estate assets established across 14 square kilometers, in addition to a dedicated three-square kilometer logistics zone and dry port. A total of 6 billion Saudi Riyals was invested in the first phase of this mega project, which is set to be completed in 2021. Upon completion, the project will add 22 billion Saudi Riyals annually to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product by 2035, while creating thousands of new highly skilled job opportunities. Fifteen major energy companies have already signed agreements to invest in SPARK, and another fifteen companies are currently in the pipeline. It is forecasted that foreign direct investment in SPARK will exceed 2 billion US Dollars in the next two years, once these investors finalize the construction of their facilities.
