The signing ceremony of the agreement took place at the headquarters of the Egyptian General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, Cairo.
The consortium, also comprising Hassan Allam Holding, will work together during the development phase to complete the site studies and secure the financing of the facility. Located in the Gulf of Suez and Gabal el Zeit area, the wind project is the largest single contracted wind farm in the Middle East region and one of the largest onshore wind farms in the world. The project will be designed to use state-of-art wind turbines with blade heights of up to 220 metres, which helps in achieving the best use of the designated land plots in the most efficient way.
When complete, the project will mitigate the impact of 2.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year and provide electricity to 1,080,000 households.
“This milestone wind project falls within the framework of the Egyptian government’s strategy to diversify its energy sources and leverage the country’s rich natural resources, especially in renewable energy” said Dr. Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi, Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy. “The Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy is taking concrete actions to ensure the resilience of our energy strategy, because of the escalating changes that the world is witnessing, which aim to increase the contribution of renewable energy to up to 42 percent by 2035.”
The 1.1 GW wind project confirms Egypt’s commitment in spearheading the use of renewable energy sources to reduce the impact of carbon emissions produced by conventional energy sources, as Egypt gears up to host the United Nations Climate Conference (COP 27) in November 2022, the foremost international forum to discuss countries’ efforts in addressing climate change.
The project is a leading example of the Egyptian government’s efforts to increase the participation of the private sector in implementing green energy projects in Egypt as well as attracting investments from international, Arab and local companies into the country.
This is ACWA Power’s third project - and first wind farm - in Egypt, after the 120 MW Ben Ban solar independent power projects in the Aswan region and the 200MW Kom Ombo solar plant.
The 1.1 GW wind project is forecasted to reach financial close by the third quarter of 2024. The plant will be commercially operational by the end of 2026.
Those present included:
Dr. Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi, Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy;
His Excellency Dr. Majid Bin Abdullah Alkassabi, Saudi’s Minister of Commerce;
His Excellency Dr. Issam bin Saad bin Saeed, Minister of State and Cabinet member for Shoura Council affairs;
HE Dr. Hala Al Said, Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development;
Counselor Mohamed Abdel Wahab, CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones “GAFI”; Eng. Osama Asran, Egypt’s Deputy Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy;
Eng. Gaber Desouky, CEO of the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC);
Dr. Amjad Saeed, Advisor to the Minister;
Eng. Sabah Mashali, Chairman of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company;
Dr. Mohammed El Khayat, Chairman of New and Renewable Energy Authority;
His Excellency Mohammad Abunayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power.
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