Clean energy project developer NineDot has delivered New York’s first battery energy storage system (BESS). The site is located in the Bronx, New York City and features a 12.32MWh (megawatt-hours) Tesla Megapack system, a solar canopy, and infrastructure ready for bi-directional electric vehicle chargers. The site is described as “a model for how to develop future urban clean energy projects”.

“We are excited to formally cut the ribbon on our ‘Gunther’ Bronx battery energy storage site. Building battery storage sites in a dense urban environment requires an unusual set of skills and experience all brought together in NineDot Energy, as well as support from a wide range of visionary regulators and policy-makers and a terrific group of dedicated partners who we are thanking today,” said David Arfin, NineDot Energy CEO and Co-founder.

Combined with the large NineDot Energy pipeline, the project supports the company’s goal of delivering 400MW of clean energy systems by 2026 that strengthen the local power grid and provide stable, reliable and resilient power to tens of thousands of New York City households and businesses, the firm said.

In June 2022, Big Project Middle East hosted its inaugural Energy & Sustainability Summit. Watch the highlights of that event here.

The project is said to have received $1.2mn from NYSERDA through its Retail Energy Storage Incentive Program and supports New York’s goal of 6,000MW of energy storage by 2030.

Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO, NYSERDA added, “NYSERDA is proud to partner with companies like NineDot Energy that are committed to investing in energy storage projects that allow us to better integrate clean, renewable resources more efficiently. Once completed, this energy storage system will help to reduce electricity use from some of the dirtiest power plants in the Bronx during hot summer days, and will serve as a model for how to advance similar projects in congested urban environments.”

Vicki Kuo, Senior Vice President, Customer Energy Solutions, at Con Edison noted, “This project is special because it combines multiple technologies that will contribute to a clean energy future and make our region a leader in the fight against climate change. The ability of companies like NineDot to innovate, along with the commitment of Con Edison, our customers and other parties, will ensure that our state and city meet their environmental goals.”

In May, Tesla Energy said that it is still aiming for annual energy storage deployments of 1,500GWh by 2030, which would require an average CAGR of 90% over the decade.

NineDot Energy builds its battery storage sites in areas that sit at the intersection of existing infrastructure and high energy demand, the firm pointed out. Adam Cohen, NineDot Energy Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder remarked, “Finding the right sites requires a deep understanding of grid design and regulation along with extensive project-finance and decision-science skills, and we believe NineDot uniquely brings together all these capabilities in one innovative company.”

With battery storage, the Gunther site not only makes the local grid more robust, but also integrates more clean energy into the grid during times of peak demand, the company concluded.

In April, LONGi said it was awarded the solar module supply contract for Saudi’s mammoth The Red Sea project and, in July, Rosatom said it began onsite works on Egypt’s first nuclear plant.

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Source: ME Construction News

When it comes to growth in prime residential capital value, the leader board has traditionally been dominated by US cities. Now, Dubai has become the only non-US city to make it to the top five, ranking fourth for prime residential capital value growth in the first half of 2022, says global real estate advisor Savills.

What’s more, of all the other contenders, Savills says that it believes Dubai is set to perform the strongest for the remainder of 2022. In its bi-annual study of prime residential capital values and rents across 30 major global cities, Savills notes Dubai has recorded strong performance on both prime residential capital growth and rental growth assessments for the period ended June. The findings are published in the Savills Prime Residential Index: World Cities.

In June 2022, real estate brokerage Union Square House (USH) stated that a quarter of homebuyers in Dubai are on the hunt for living spaces that provide mental health benefits.

In Dubai, prime prices grew by 4.7% during the first half of the year, compared to an average growth of only 2.4% across the 30 cities covered by the Savills index. Dubai is also forecast to witness strong capital growth continuing for the remainder of 2022.

One of the factors driving this high performance is the prediction that the UAE will receive 4,000 millionaires relocating to the country in 2022, four times the pre-pandemic norm of 1,000 per annum, the firm noted.

Not even an influx of this calibre has been able to dislodge Miami from the top spot yet however: the US city was ranked first for prime capital value growth in the first half of 2022, recording a half year rise of 12.5%. Lower taxes and a high quality of life encouraged migration from other US locations, fuelling the city’s success. North American cities have performed the strongest in 2022 so far, followed by cities in Europe – with Dubai the only GCC location to buck the trend.

In early July, the Dubai Land Department and Emirates NBD inked a deal to replace rent cheques with online payments, while later in the month, ZāZEN Properties’ Madhav Dhar said that shifting buyers’ behaviour is shaping rising demand in the UAE.

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Source: ME Construction News

South Korean steel giant, SeAH Group, has set up a joint venture (JV) with Saudi energy giant Aramco, to produce special steel pipes.

According to a report in The Korea Economic Report, the JV will accelerate the expansion of the group in the Middle East. SeAH Changwon Integrated Special Steel Corp, the group’s special steel maker, will be involved in the project, which will be established in King Salman Energy Park (SPARK), the under-construction megaproject located between Damman and Al-Ahsa in the Kingdom’s Eastern Province.

In October 2021, Baker Hughes began construction of its OFS regional hub at SPARK.

It added that the factory will have an annual capacity of 17,000 tons. Construction work is scheduled to commence in Q4 of this year, with the start of commercial operations targeted for the first half of 2025.

The announcement follows the news in September last years, which saw SeAH Changwon agree on an investment of $230mn to jointly set up a seamless stainless steel pipe production plant with the Aramco-owned Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company (Dussur), the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund and Saudi Basic Industries Corp.

The report added that they completed the JV establishment after reporting the integration to six authorities, including those in South Korea, Saudi Arabia, the European Union, and China.

In January 2022, Spark and Abdullah M Bin Saedan and Sons Real Estate Company inked a $93.2mn deal to develop eco-friendly residential complex.

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The Bobcat T40.180SLP telehandler has been delivered to contractor Van den Heuvel at Tata Steel’s IJmuiden Works, located on the North Sea Coast of the Netherlands. Finished in Van den Heuvel colours, the T40.180SLP has been supplied with a Bobcat man platform attachment that is widely used in the work the company carries out at the Tata Steel site.

In addition to some loading and unloading work, the telehandler and attached platform is mainly used for measuring and inspecting pipeline networks, but also for installation, repair, welding and maintenance work at height. The new machine has replaced the company’s previous telehandler that was 21 years old.

In March 2022, Bobcat launched eight new 500 and 600 Series compact loader models, completing its loader range for the Middle East and Africa market (MEA).

“In the end we opted for the compact T40.180SLP from Bobcat; mainly because of the lifting capacity, the lifting height of 18m, the functionality, the man platform and the ease of maintenance. The excellent stability thanks to the low centre of gravity, long wheelbase, heavy counterweight, balanced weight distribution and outriggers was also of great importance to us, because people regularly work on the platform. All these aspects were included in the programme of requirements,” explains Marco Bervoets, who was responsible for purchasing the new machine as Manager of the Support Office at Van den Heuvel.

Along with the telehandler at Van den Heuvel, Bobcat’s remote control system allows all normal functions for driving, lifting and positioning of the platform to be controlled at height. The man platform is equipped with a small compensation cylinder, which ensures that the basket is always exactly horizontal. In combination with the boom positioning system on the telehandler, the platform can be manoeuvred with high accuracy, the company said.

At the 2022 Construction Machinery Middle East Awards, Bobcat picked up an award in the ‘Innovation of the Year’ category, and, in June, showcased new technology and products at its Demo Days event.

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Source: ME Construction News

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) has reported its consolidated financial results for the period ended 30 June 2022. Its net income (TAQA-share) was said to be $1.17bn billion, 50% higher than the prior-year period, with greater contribution from the oil & gas segment.

In a statement, TAQA said that it delivered a strong performance underpinned by its stable contracted and regulated utilities business, and buoyant commodity prices. One notable highlight during the half was that the group had entered into binding agreements for the acquisition of a stake in Masdar, said H.E. Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Chairman of TAQA Group.

“The transaction between Mubadala, ADNOC and TAQA will create a global clean energy powerhouse that consolidates renewable energy and green hydrogen efforts under a unified brand and further accelerate TAQA’s growth trajectory. The partnership also sets out to transform the energy landscape both in Abu Dhabi and on a global scale, supporting the country’s own ‘Net-Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative’ and cementing its role as a leader driving global energy transition efforts.”

In January 2022, TAQA and Etisalat Digital joined forces for an advanced metering infrastructure project.

Highlighting its operational performance, TAQA said the transmission network availability for power and water was 98.4%, compared to 98.2% – a slight improvement on the prior-year period. It also noted that generation global commercial availability was 97.5%, which was slightly lower compared to 97.7% from the prior-year period, mainly due to unplanned maintenance within the UAE fleet. It added that its oil & gas average production volumes were 124.1 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOEPD), unchanged on the same period last year.

Upon approving the period’s financial results, TAQA’s Board of Directors also declared an interim cash dividend of $183.7mn (0.60 fils per share). This will be the second quarterly dividend payment planned for the financial year of 2022, in line with the company’s dividend policy.

Jasim Husain Thabet, TAQA’s Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, commented: “TAQA Group has closed the first half of 2022 with strong financial results that showcase our continued strong performance and our robust business model as a fully integrated utility champion for Abu Dhabi and beyond. In the first six months of this year, TAQA has already made great strides in its growth strategy and in executing our ambitions for the future.”

“Highlights for the first half include the issue of our first green bond linked to Noor Abu Dhabi for international investors and launched our second sustainability report with interim emissions targets for 2030 to be articulated later this year.”

He concluded, “In addition, we announced that we expect to acquire a stake in EGA’s power assets, increasing our UAE-based capacity to more than 22GW, in line with TAQA’s growth strategy to increase domestic capacity to 30GW by 2030. We also listed nine TAQA-issued bonds on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, an important milestone for local and regional investors and strengthening the Emirate’s debt capital market.”

In January, Hitachi Energy said it had won an ADNOC power transmission contract, while in June, Masdar signed agreements with Azerbaijan to develop 10,000MW of clean energy.

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Source: ME Construction News

Mining and infrastructure productivity partner Epiroc has completed its acquisition of RNP México, a manufacturer of rock drills and related spare parts.

RNP México is based in San Luis Potosi state, Mexico, and has branches in Chile and Peru; it is said to employ 370 people and had 2021 revenues of approximately $28mn. The company develops, manufactures, and sells rock drills and related components, serving mining and construction customers mainly in Latin America.

In July 2022, Sandvik said it completed testing of Cat HVO capable engines on mining and construction equipment.

“This acquisition will strengthen Epiroc’s offering of rock drills and spare parts primarily in Latin America. We look forward to welcoming RNP México to Epiroc,” says Helena Hedblom, Epiroc’s President and CEO.

Last month Epiroc announced that it had agreed to acquire RNP México subject to the completion of certain closing conditions, which have now been satisfied.

Late in July, Metso Outotec said it would deliver the world’s largest Premier grinding mills to a Zambian copper mine, while in early August, Weir announced that Ricardo Garib will retire as President of Weir.

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15 December will be the day that Big Project Middle East hosts the 2022 edition of its annual awards ceremony. The gala event will take place at the prestigious Ritz Carlton JBR in Dubai.

The Big Project ME (BPME) Awards have been running for over 11 years and, this year, will once again honor the region’s top developers, contractors, individuals and projects. Nominations are now officially open and will close on 24 October 2022.

21 Awards are up for grabs across a diverse range of categories including: Contractor of the Year; Developer of the Year; Project of the Year; Infrastructure Project of the Year; Supplier of the Year; Sustainable Government Department of the Year; Big Project ME Executive of the Year and others. Those keen on participating can read about all the categories here.

As in previous years, there is no cost to submit nominations for the BPME Awards, and nominations will only be accepted via the event’s dedicated website. Once nominations close, they will be studied by an independent panel of judges comprising individuals from the consulting side of the construction industry, as well as academia. Read all the nomination guidelines here.

Discussing what companies should and shouldn’t do to stand the best chance to win an award, Gavin Davids, Head of Editorial and Content at BPME states, “As always, we encourage nominees to take time with their submissions – show us what you’ve accomplished and delivered over the last year, don’t just tell us. The more hard data and information you can share in the nomination, the more informed the judges will be about your suitability as a winner.”

He cautions, “On that note, don’t just share a company brochure or marketing pack with us as your submission – introduce your company, tell us what you’re all about, but be concise, clear and to the point. Every year, we receive hundreds of nominations, so if you want to stand out from your competitors, don’t beat around the bush!”

“Finally, it’s crucial to include testimonials and endorsements in your submission as it gives the judges an opportunity to see how your partners, clients and stakeholders value your company’s contribution to their projects and operations.”

Read about all the winners at the 2021 Big Project ME Awards here.

Earlier in the year, in line with the growing adoption of technology in the built environment, BPME also launched its inaugural ME Digital Construction Awards (ME DCA). Scheduled to take place on 25 October, companies interested in nominating can visit the event’s dedicated website to learn about those award categories and nomination guidelines.

Asked about how the new ME DCA Awards differ from the Big Project ME Awards, Davids explains, “Given the rapid evolution of the construction industry over the last two years, the Big Project ME editorial team decided that it was right time to create a separate awards night celebrating the technological achievements of the construction industry.”

He elaborates, “However, we will continue to hold the Big Project ME Awards as our flagship event, which will encompass all facets of the construction industry, such as health and safety, operational efficiencies, performance, delivery and so on. Furthermore, the Awards will continue to highlight the achievements of the different sectors of the industry, such as MEP, fit-out, sustainability, etc.”

To learn more about the Big Project Middle East awards, click here.

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Source: ME Construction News

Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi has recommenced operations following the completion of a major upgrade project, which included the widening of the runway to accommodate larger aircraft. Other works undertaken included a substantial new boundary wall, runway resurfacing, upgraded ground lighting, enhanced signage and landscaping. The facility had been closed to all aircraft except helicopters since 11 May 2022.

“It has been a major project involving different elements of the airport,” said Matar Al Suwaidi, Senior Vice President of Terminal Operations at Abu Dhabi Airports. “Everything you can see, and touch is being enhanced.”

The refurbishments mark a new era for an airport that was the first modern international facility in Abu Dhabi, he added. The work on the runway will see it change from a 4C to a 4D, which in airport terminology means that it will be able to handle twin aisle jets, such as Boeing 767s, whereas before it could only accommodate single aisle planes such as Boeing 737s or Airbus A320s.

In June 2022, Dubai Airports completed the the rehabilitation of its Northern Runway.

Opened in the 1960s to cater for a surge of people arriving in Abu Dhabi after oil was found, Al Bateen has gone through several upgrades and refurbishments throughout its history, having also functioned as a military base before becoming a dedicated airport for private jets.

The facility is also getting ready to host Abu Dhabi Air Expo from 1 to 3 November, an event that is expected to attract more than 18,000 visitors and host more than 300 manufacturers and suppliers.

However, the works alone do not award the certification, and final approval from the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority are still pending. “It is not a switch-on and switch-off decision,” Al Suwaidi said. “There is documentation to provide and testing to conclude. It will take some time.”

In May, NEOM and Saudia announced plans to kick off weekly air service to international destinations.

He added that there are also plans in place to rename the three existing terminals before the end of the year as part of a branding initiative to further boost the airport. “There is a very high demand for a private jet facility,” Al Suwaidi said.

Al Bateen can accommodate 50 parked jets and the people who use the facility include government delegations, business people and high-net-worth individuals from across the world, he revealed. The airport can also accommodate helicopters, with Abu Dhabi Police, a search-and-rescue service and private operator among those based there.

“The business model is you have more privacy and from the moment you get off the plane at Bateen and into the car is just 100m,” he added. “Some people are not interested in going to the duty free and from one terminal to another. Here everything is done in one place. A one-stop shop.”

A cost for the works was not disclosed, while final tests are now being carried out, the statement concluded.

In January 2022, Kuwait announced plans for a new airport in the northern area of the city.

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