Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), Infinity Power, and Hassan Allam Utilities signed an agreement with Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) to establish Africa’s biggest wind farm.
Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly witnessed the signing of the deal in Cairo on 6 June. The original agreement was penned on the sidelines of COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh last year.
The partnership aims to build a 10-gigawatt (GW) capacity onshore wind farm in Egypt at a value exceeding $10 billion. The wind project will generate 47,790 gigawatt hours (GWh) of clean energy on a yearly basis.
It will also reduce nearly 9% of the Arab Republic’s annual carbon emissions by displacing 23.80 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.
The wind farm aligns with Egypt’s strategic objective to source 42% of its energy from renewables by 2030. The 10 GW plant will save the North African nation an estimated $5 billion in natural gas costs a year.
Sultan Al Jaber, Chairman of Masdar, said: “This 10GW onshore wind project is set to be one of the largest wind farms in the world and largest on the African continent.”
“The world needs to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Projects like these will support the global efforts to reduce the impact of climate change and help keep the ambition of 1.5 intact while enabling significant socio-economic growth,” Al Jaber continued.
Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi, Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, affirmed that renewable energy in the country has the potential to attract direct foreign investments.
El-Markabi added: “Egypt’s geographical location enables it to export green energy to Europe, especially as the country looks to further enhance and raise the efficiency of its national grid.”
