On 5 July, the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy signed with the Norwegian renewable energy giant Scatec ASA an agreement by which the Ministry allocates land upon which Scatec erects a wind farm west of Sohag, some 420km south of Cairo. At a USD5 billion investment, the wind farm will be capable of producing five gigawatts of electricity a year.
The signing ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Electricity Mohamed Shaker and Norway’s Ambassador to Cairo, Hilde Klimtsdal.
Signing the agreement on the Egyptian side was Mohamed El Khayat, Executive Chairman of New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) affiliated to the Ministry of Electricity; and for Scatec, its CEO Terje Pilskog.
The new wind farm is expected to produce five gigawatts annually, which will contribute greatly towards achieving Egypt’s 2030 objective of renewable energy constituting 42 per cent of its energy mix.
Mr Pilskog said that the west Sohag plant is set to be one of the largest wind farms in Egypt and Africa. The project will provide some 8000 job opportunities during the construction phase, in addition to 300 permanent jobs, he pointed out.
Mr Pilskog spoke of the six solar power plants established by Scatec in the Benban solar park. Benban solar park is a power complex of 41 solar power plants in Benban in Egypt’s southernmost region of Aswan. According to Mr Pilskog, it is the largest direct foreign investment project in the field of solar power in Egypt. Benban is the fourth largest solar power plant in the world. Once operational, it will produce more than 4TWh of power, and prevent two million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year.
For his part, Egypt’s Minister of Electricity cited the government’s keenness to optimise the use of renewable energy, and encourage investments in the field. This, Mr Shaker said, will reduce the use of fossil fuels and accordingly, CO2 emissions. Egypt is now proving itself as a renewable energy source attractive for foreign direct investment, Mr Shaker said, pointing at the advantages offered by Egypt on this score. He cited the lands provided by the government for building renewable energy plants, and the country’s location which is favourable to exporting green energy to Europe, especially in light of Egypt’s enhanced and upgraded national power grid.