A 250 MW wind farm is set to be constructed at Ras Gharib in the Suez governorate of Egypt after the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) and Lekela Power signed an agreement for the latter to launch the wind farm.
Mohamed El Khayat, the Chairperson of the NREA said that through an agreement signed at Suez, the company has received the land on which the project shall be situated for 2% of the produced energy annually.
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Wind farm project
Ras Gharib is a focal region for the development of wind farms in Egypt. The area has high wind power generation potential (Wind Atlas), which experiences strong winds that some times reach a speed of up to 12 kilometers per hour. For this reason it is estimated that the western side of the Gulf of Suez can host about 20,000 MW installed capacity of wind farms.
This aspects makes the governorate suitable and preferable for the development. It shall allow the developer to sell energy at competitive prices to the Egyptian Electricity Transmission company (EETC). The two entered into an agreement in last month.
The financial closure of the project is expected to be finalized by the end of August this year. Three European banking institutions have been invited and they showed their interest to fund the project by approximately US $245m.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) offered a loan worth US $82m, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) contributed US $81m. Lastly and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) added US $82m on the funds. The project is part of the government’s plan to implement energy projects under the build, own, operate (BOO) system.
