Egypt has received a major contribution amounting to US$30 million from the OPEC fund for the construction of Africa’s largest onshore wind power project named the Gulf of Suez Wind Farm. The support underscores a major investment many other countries are making towards the shift to renewable energy. The project will be able to provide electricity to over 1 million homes and reduce Egypt’s carbon emissions by nearly 2.5 million tonnes each year. What’s more, the 1.1 GW Gulf of Suez Wind Farm has been estimated to cost US$1.1 billion and recently received a US$170 million loan from the African Development Bank in December.
Project Overview
Location: Red Sea, Egypt
Total cost: US$1.1 Billion
Total Capacity: 1.1 GW
PPA: Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC)
Project contractors: Vestas Wind Systems
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Who will control the power generated from The Gulf of Suez Wind Farm
The 4,111 GWh of energy expected to be generated annually will be taken by The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) through a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement. Construction on the project begun in 2023 and it is expected that it will begin operation this year. Vestas Wind Systems rendered engineering procurement construction services on the project as wel as supplying the turbines for the windmills. A total of 70 units of V105-3.45MW turbines, each with 3.6MW nameplate capacity were announced to be used for the project. Furthermore, the company will perform operations and maintenance for the wind power project for a period of 3 years.
Egypt’s Renewable Energy Status
A goal Egypt has been actively working towards is increasing its renewable energy capacity to address the power shortages it faces and to sell some green electricity to Europe. It has been difficult for the country, however, to upgrade the power grid and attract new investors. Renewable energy growth, as a result, has stagnated for 6 years now, accounting for less than 12% of Egypts 60 GW capacity. The Gulf of Suez Wind Farm will, however, increase the countries independence from imported fossil fuel and improve its energy security.
