ACWA Power, a company headquartered in Saudi Arabia, has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA).
Under this agreement, the MoU entails the provision of land for a massive 10GW wind project in Egypt.
Dr Mohamed Shaker Al-Marqabi, Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, stated: “Egypt has adopted an ambitious programme to advance the electricity sector in various fields, which includes maximising the utilisation of new and renewable energy resources, encouraging investment in these fields to enable energy independence from fossil fuels, continuing to reduce carbon emissions, and increasing renewable energy capacity in the energy mix up to 42 per cent by 2035.”
“This focus also aligns with Egypt’s Vision 2030 and the National Climate Strategy 2050 to mitigate the impact of climate change challenges and achieve sustainable economic growth.”
Al-Marqabi added: “We foresee that the positive contributions with financing institutions and development partners, as well as the comparative advantages of Egypt in terms of the availability of land, will show that Egypt has what it takes to produce renewable energy for domestic consumption and export.”
The MoU designates roughly 3,000 square kilometres of land located to the west of Sohag, an urban hub, for the project.
Anticipated to produce approximately 50 thousand gigawatt-hours of clean energy annually, the wind project aims to supply electricity to about 11 million households and effectively reduce carbon emissions by 25.5 million tonnes per year.
Marco Arcelli, CEO of ACWA Power, has expressed determination to harness the vast potential of wind power, creating jobs, reducing emissions, and ensuring a greener and brighter future for Egypt. The wind power plant, projected to bring significant economic benefits, includes an estimated annual saving of $6.5B in natural gas costs and the creation of up to 120,000 job opportunities.
During the construction phase, the project will indirectly employ about 45,000 people and provide indirect employment to approximately 75,000 people. Additionally, the operation and maintenance phase will generate an additional 2,500 jobs once the project is completed.
ACWA Power has a substantial portfolio of projects in Egypt, encompassing three other facilities that are either operational, under construction, or in advanced development. These include a 120MW solar PV project in Benban, a 200MW solar PV facility in Kom Ombo, and the 1.1GW Suez Wind Energy project.
The company has been actively present in Egypt since 2015, contributing to the country’s energy sector through its diverse projects.
